The FA Cup final was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The Millennium Stadium is the National Stadium of Wales, which can accommodate 75,000 spectators and is a UEFA five-star football stadium. It has been used for rugby games. During the renovation of the Wembley Stadium, the FA Cup and League Cup finals were scheduled to be held at this stadium.

After Millwall and Liverpool arrived at the Millennium Stadium, they were arranged to enter the venue to warm up.

There are four hours left before the game.

That was not a warm-up before the game, but an afternoon training for the two teams. Both sides entered the game field, and the center line was used as the boundary to train separately.

This is an on-site arrangement, because the game is held at night, and both sides only play one game, so there is no need to arrange training on the small court.

Perhaps, it is also to reduce funds.

If the two teams are provided with additional venues, it involves the issue of venue rental and the game funds will be spent more. However, it is still very interesting that the two teams that are about to compete for training on a court, and competition between players is inevitable.

Although not in the same venue, competition has begun during free training.

Liverpool's captain Gerald showed an amazing free kick opportunity, and he used the method of constantly bombarding the goal to shock Millwall.

This trick doesn't seem to work very much.

Millwall soon responded with color. Livermore was thirty meters away from the goal, and even Livermore could hear the muffled sound of the football.

Many Liverpool players have also begun to talk about Livermore-

"Is that called David? You should pay attention to him."

"Don't let him raise his feet easily, it's too threatening!"

"He is so strong!"

"The news reports are indeed correct. This guy is just a long-range shooting machine!"

"He's not worse than Steven..."

After the fierce shooting competition, the two sides began to compete in other events, such as players and players passing the ball to each other, everyone was energetic, and the speed of passing the ball to each other became faster and faster, making mistakes inevitably, and some jokes were made.

Zhang Yang stood on the sidelines.

Beside him was Benitez. Both of them were watching the training, and it was also interesting to stand side by side.

Benitez looked serious, and Zhang Yang smiled. When he saw Simpson's kick and the ball kicked away, he also said, "Everyone is very energetic. Today's game will be very exciting!"

Benitez nodded and replied, "Yes. So Zhang, can you ask, how would you use a player like Livermore? I think his playing forward is more effective than playing back midfielder."

“…?”

The topic was a bit quicker, and Zhang Yang didn't react for a while, so he had to murmur, "Maybe, yes, maybe you can try it." He found that he could not talk to Benitezdo, otherwise he would find that his brain circuit was really not enough.

The atmosphere of the two head coaches was a bit awkward. The arrival of the FA official group has eased the embarrassment. Jove Thompson took the initiative to come over and congratulate Millwall on winning the league championship. "On the day Millwall won the championship, yes, you should understand, it was a bit unexpected. I originally wanted to present the award myself."

"Of course. Thank you."

"I will present the championship today." Chev Thompson said with Zhang Yang and Benitez, "I am looking forward to it. It will be very lively at that time, and I believe the game will be very exciting!"

Then it became chatting.

Chev Thompson asked Zhang Yang about Millwall's transfer issue. He was mainly concerned about how much funds Millwall has prepared and to what extent will it supplement its strength.

This seems to have nothing to do with the FA, but in fact, the FA is always responsible for the commercialization of the English League. They need to have some understanding of each team, and it is best to be able to judge a team's possible future results.

For example, set a schedule for the new season.

If you understand the possible results of each team, you can use this to formulate a schedule and place key games at critical time points to attract more fans.

There is nothing secret to this.

Zhang Yang whispered a few words to Jove Thompson. There are not many opportunities like this. It is very beneficial to let the FA know that Millwall is very competitive. The schedule may be more humane, such as not meeting strong teams for several rounds like this season, and only playing against weak teams for many rounds in a row.

That's not a good schedule.

Continuously playing easy games will make the team forget the feeling of fighting against strong teams; continuous fighting against strong teams will make the team too nervous and tired.

After Jove Thompson left, Zhang Yang saw that the time was almost over, so he returned to the locker room first. After about half an hour, the players returned one after another. They had to go for dinner together, then rest for a while, adjust their bodies to their best state, and prepare for the game.

At 7:30 p.m., the two teams officially started to warm up.

At this time, less than half an hour was left before the competition. Zhang Yang and Wilkinson went to the mixed area for interviews together, and then Zhang Yang and the press officer attended the press conference together.

The interview at the press conference is more formal.

The media got the starting list of the two teams early, and they can also ask questions about this.

Liverpool's starting lineup is in a regular lineup, which is almost consistent with media speculation.

Millwall is a little different.

In the middle of the midfield, there were three players starting, namely Jody Morris, Elliott and Livermore. The media focus was on Elliott. Before, Elliott was still a semi-main player, but in the late stage of the league, with Smitchell's outstanding performance, Millwall's lineup tactics made some adjustments, and Elliott's chances of playing have become less and he has gradually become a substitute.

The media is concerned that Smitchell did not start, Zhang Yang's answer to this is, "Vladimir's body has no problem, it is just a normal adjustment. I think I have no reason to answer questions about the starting lineup."

Zhang Yang means, "Who I send to start the show, you don't need to point fingers."

The reporters also found that they were too busy with their own control.

Elliott is also a good player, with strong defensive ability. Millwall arranged the starter, and there was no problem, but they were too concerned about Smitchell.

In fact, Smitchell was the focus of this game.

Smitchell is a former Liverpool player. When Millwall played against Liverpool for the first time, Smitchell performed very well and became the best player in the game. Many people think that when they fight against Liverpool, Smitchell will definitely play.

The coaching staff also considered this issue, but in the end, Zhang Yang decided to let Elliot start to strengthen the midfield's ability to compete and defense in the backcourt.

Smitchell is good, but he and Jody Morris are the same type of players. The two of them play together and it is not a problem to cooperate. The key team's lineup is too focused on offense.

The key point of this game is to open the situation from the wing and be organized in the middle, and there is no need to be too strong. Therefore, Zhang Yang chose to let Jody Morris appear, and Smitchell could only sit on the bench.

After the press conference, Zhang Yang returned to the locker room to mobilize the team for the final mobilization.

After that, the players are about to play.

———

Millennium Stadium.

At 8 o'clock local time, at the FA Cup final, Millwall's match against Liverpool officially started, with more than 70,000 fans on the spot. According to statistics, nearly 10 million English fans watched the live broadcast of the game. The overseas data was more than three times more. This may depend on the contribution of Chinese fans. Even if affected by the time difference, the number of Chinese fans determines that the number of viewers will not be small, and many fans stay up late and come to watch the game.

At the beginning of the game, the commentator compared the starting lineup.

At the beginning of the season, Millwall's lineup was seen as "dismal" and was not comparable to Wigan Athletics and Sunderland, which are also promoted.

It's different now.

After a season, Millwall's players have become famous, especially Darren Bent on the front line, who is considered to be the top Liverpool's Sissega Morientes combination. The efficiency of the two together is not as good as Darren Bent.

Millwall is a little worse in the middle of the midfield, Gerald Garonso is considered a very outstanding partner, Livermore, Morris and Elliott are also good, but their skills are relatively poor, and they are only more outstanding in defense.

Liverpool's back line is stronger, with Carragher, Heipia, Riser and Finnan in the back line, more famous than Mirwall's defenders and more stable performance.

Millwall's advantage is still the two wings. Braniff and Josh Simpson are both considered to be quite aggressive players. Both of them can play forwards and their offensive abilities are stronger than their defensive abilities. In contrast, Louis Garcia, who has always been disliked by the British media, and Cenden, who is not famous no matter how he plays, is that he has rich experience.

Many fans are still discussing that Smitchell did not play, which is a regret for Liverpool fans. Millwall fans don’t think so. Smitchell is not special in Millwall.

After the game officially started, fans obviously noticed that both teams were very concerned about defense.

Liverpool pays great attention to defense.

Zhang Yang has been considering how to break through Liverpool's defense, but Millwall also pays attention to defense. In a game that determines the victory or defeat, it is not a saying that he just hopes to decide the victory or defeat within 90 minutes and does not delay the time to overtime. It will make the players physically and mentally exhausted, and perhaps something unexpected will happen.

Ten minutes into the game, both sides played very conservatively, and the commentator did statistics, "So far, the ball control data of both sides is very close. In terms of fighting, no one has gained a advantage. Liverpool once shot, which was Gerald's long shot, which failed to threaten the goal. Millwall has not shot yet..."

"From the game situation, both sides seem to have not entered the state, but it is obvious that both sides are playing more targeted in offense."

The commentator talks about the "both sides", and the only one who actually shows off the offensive threat is Mirwall.

Millwall has not shot yet, but the targeted attack has been made. Two consecutive waves of offensives were launched from the wing, and the football was passed to the middle, but Liverpool successfully grasped the ball.

Liverpool coach Benitez noticed this, knowing Millwall was trying to find opportunities from the wing.

This is not surprising.

Many teams that play against Liverpool will look for opportunities on the wing in order to break through Liverpool's defense, and the representative one is Chelsea.

Chelsea's wings are very strong, Robben, Duff, and Joe Cole, each player is very outstanding, with strong breakthrough ability, fast speed and good skills. The technical characteristics of such wing players can be pressed on their heads.

So what?

Chelsea plays targeted attacks and it is very difficult to break through Liverpool's defense line. Just like in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Chelsea attacked the entire game but failed to score.

It's not easy for Millwall to score!

Benitez is still very confident in the team's defense. He is considering how the team can counterattack and actively seek opportunities to score.

In terms of game preparation, Liverpool is not as good as Millwall, but Benitez knows how to play with Millwall. Millwall's shortcomings are obvious - the back line players are not capable enough.

This disadvantage will make it easier for opponent players to rely on their personal abilities to find opportunities.

So Benitez reminded the frontcourt players to take the ball forward if they have the chance to get the ball by themselves. ‘Single’ is also an occasional good choice, especially Gerald, Alonso, and Morientes, who are all very skilled players. If they can play, it will not be difficult to score goals.

The next game between the two sides was a bit stalemate.

Liverpool and Millwall performed very well, and the main part of the performance was in the midfield. The two sides fought fiercely to compete for control of the midfield.

When Millwall launched the offensive, Josh Simpson's performance on the wing was also quite outstanding. From the fifteenth minute to the twenty-fifth minute, he sent a three-foot pass near the penalty area line in ten minutes.
To be continued...