The Rise of Millwal

432  Redemption in Blue: Larmore's Moment

"As the first half came to a close in the clash between Millwall and Liverpool, the home side found themselves three goals down and a man short! Houllier's squad looked like a disjointed mess—no resistance against the reigning champions and no signs of causing any problems for them. Maybe Houllier had a point about the fixture congestion; they were up against the champions too soon, and the team simply hadn't had time to bond. Half of the starters were fresh faces—young guns just promoted, and others were new signings from the summer transfer market. They'd hardly spent a month playing together, and now they were being completely outclassed by one of the top teams in the Premier League. It's hard to argue with the scoreline, isn't it?"

No matter how much Aldrich had tried to boost team morale before the match, by the time the halftime whistle blew, the players weren't quite yet uninterested, but they had certainly relaxed.

Defeating Liverpool and conquering Anfield isn't a particularly challenging task...

Especially when one witnesses the opponent's poor performance firsthand, making it hard to view Liverpool as a formidable club.

Aldrich hadn't anticipated a three-goal lead by halftime, along with Liverpool reduced to ten men. Consequently, during the break, he made some adjustments to conserve energy for the second half.

This also provided a great opportunity to enhance Pirlo's ability to control the pace of the game.

As the second half began, Millwall steadily took charge of the match's tempo, increasing their pass completion rate without taking unnecessary risks. Pirlo orchestrated the midfield play; for perhaps nine of the ten minutes, nothing seemed notable in his performance. He passed, moved, received, and passed again, maintaining a calm and steady rhythm. But during that ten minutes, there was one moment where Pirlo suddenly accelerated, igniting the entire team's attack which posed an even greater threat than the fast-paced game from the first half.

This shift in tempo and the acceleration in attack required more from Pirlo, and he was gradually rising to the challenge, leaving Aldrich very pleased.

Even with one man missing, the Liverpool players never gave up, fighting hard and with high morale. But it was like wielding a heavy sword against a nimble swordsman, their power could not hit the target, and all their reckless charges were in vain.

More often than not, their overzealous attacks allowed Millwall to exploit the openings in their defense.

In the 57th minute, Larsson cut inside and left Matteo behind, forcing Hyypiä to rush in to cover. Hyypiä felt crushed; he knew his defense would leave a gap in the middle, but what was the alternative? Allow Larsson a clear shot on goal?

Sure enough, as he moved, Larsson lofted a pass over him, and the ball flew over Hyypiä's head. Henry, unmarked in front of the goal, had his header go over the crossbar.

"Wow, Henry has missed a golden opportunity!"

Following his missed opportunity, Henry rushed into the goal, hands grasping the ball, his head downcast in frustration.

It was strange - no one was putting pressure on him but he just couldn't find the feel to shoot.

As the game ticked into the 60th minute, Aldrich made substitutions.

Klose and Larmore came on for Henry and Nedvěd.

Nedvěd, having scored twice, embraced Larmore as he came off, encouraging him softly.

After a quick high-five with Klose, Aldrich noticed Henry's slight disappointment and told him, "You're being subbed not because of a poor performance, but because we have another game in just four days."

Henry nodded and took a seat on the bench. In reality, aside from not scoring, he had performed very well—his movement drew defenders and provided support to his teammates beautifully. If only he had scored, his rating for this match would have skyrocketed.

As Larmore stepped onto the pitch, most Liverpool fans in Anfield were unfamiliar with the young lad.

However, Liverpool players' gazes lingered on Larmore for quite a while.

Gerrard, Simpson, Owen, and the newly brought-on Carragher, once fought alongside Larmore as teammates in the youth squad. Among them, Larmore had shone the brightest, the prodigy for whom Owen had to play backup!

Life's situations are peculiar; when Larmore finally recovered from his serious injury, Owen was stepping up. When Larmore was sent on loan to Doncaster and sank within a simple, brutish tactical setup, his former teammates were signing new contracts. By the time Larmore returned to Liverpool after half a season of zeros in goals and assists, he was unceremoniously released, marking the fall of a once-great talent.

Now at 22, Larmore appeared more aged than his years, looking calm and composed as if he were a still lake.

Finally, he stood on the Anfield pitch!

Only now he wore the opponent's colors—there would be no chance to don the red jersey again.

His childhood dream was shattered the moment he was dismissed, and in a phase of loneliness and despair, Millwall opened another door for him, allowing him to regroup, work quietly, and grow. The prodigy? No longer a prodigy, just an ordinary Larmore, one who wore deep blue and grounded himself in gratitude.

Pirlo continued to set a steady, unhurried rhythm. Ronaldinho also began to scale back, positioning himself to receive passes, handing control of the tempo entirely to Pirlo, pulling Liverpool's defense back and forth.

In the previous match, Larmore had scored a goal. Aldrich wanted to see more of his impact on the pitch. As soon as he entered the game, he found his stride, engaging well, releasing the ball before defenders could close in, and interacted effectively with his forward teammates.

At first glance, there was nothing particularly special about his performance. He didn't take on any defenders, and the ball never stayed at his feet for more than a second; who could really keep their eye on him?

However, with Larmore on the field, the ball is unlikely to get stuck in a deadlock. His active movement creates space and provides support, often allowing a single active point to influence others. This is especially true for the attacking midfielder position; if the attacking midfielder stands still and is tightly marked, the entire front line's attack can bog down. Even if they attempt to play down the wings, there will be no openings for a pass.

Clearly, Larmore's awareness of team play, his off-the-ball movements, and his ability to receive and distribute the ball, along with his overall vision and game-reading skills, are performing even better than Aldrich had anticipated!

In the 79th minute, Liverpool's defense sent a long pass, but Materazzi was distracted for a moment and did not clear the ball with his head, but inadvertently kicked the ball backwards. Millwall's high-pressure pressing tactics created a considerable distance between the goalkeeper and the defense. Materazzi's mistake turned into an indirect assist, allowing Owen to quickly chase the ball.

Owen ran at full speed, but was just a little bit away from the ball. But Bart was very focused. After Materazzi made a mistake in passing the ball, he quickly rushed out of the penalty area and expanded the defense. When Owen was only two meters away from the goal, Bart made a tackle and passed the ball back to Materazzi, who passed the ball to Schneider on the wing and raised his hand to apologize to Bart.

Regardless of their communication, Schneider passed the ball to Pirlo, who noticed Liverpool's formation inadvertently push higher due to this attack. Seeing the defensive line weaken, he accelerated, delivering a low pass that sliced through the Liverpool midfield right to Ronaldinho on the wing.

Once Ronaldinho received the ball, he immediately sprang into action, forming a one-two pass with Klose. Continuing to drift laterally, he faced pressure and dished the ball to Larmore.

As Larmore controlled the ball, he noticed Gerrard rushing toward him out of the corner of his eye.

Gerrard? It's been a while!

Larmore flicked the ball back with his heel as Pirlo pressed in. Simultaneously, Larmore darted forward, slipping past Simpson, who was giving his all to chase back. Larmore cast a quick look at him.

Simpson? I never imagined you'd amount to much in midfield, and now you're starting for Liverpool?!

As Simpson chased, his presence misled Hyypiä into thinking he had Larmore covered. However, Simpson's pursuit didn't keep pace fully. At a critical moment, when Larmore was parallel to the defensive line, Pirlo didn't send the ball to Larsson, Ronaldinho, or Klose; instead, he delivered a pinpoint lofted pass right to Larmore!

Simpson jumped to attempt a header clear, but he mistimed it, letting the ball drop into the **. Before it even reached the ground, Larmore had already cleared his position, adjusting his body for a shot. Meeting the descending ball, he didn't exert much force, flicking it lightly, and it ricocheted towards the upper right corner of the goal. Westerveld misjudged, only able to watch as the ball sailed by; he had expected Larmore to take a touch!

"4-0! Millwall scores again in the 80th minute! The scorer is substitute young talent David Larmore, who's now scored in consecutive substitute appearances! He's in fantastic form! According to our sources, this young player was once a product of Liverpool's youth academy but received no professional contract, and was let go. He ended up in Millwall's academy, and this season, he is officially a member of their first team, showing he has found new life at Millwall!"

After scoring, Larmore showed no bitterness toward Liverpool for abandoning him. Instead, he jogged toward the touchline after his goal, removing his shirt and facing the camera with a broad smile.

On his undershirt, a simple message read: Thank you, Nagy! n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

At Millwall's Leo training ground's conference room, Nagy sat watching the team's match with the youth squad coaches. Upon seeing Larmore's gratitude flash across the screen, he shut his eyes momentarily, revealing a blissful smile.

It was Aldrich who made the decision to bring Larmore to Millwall, but during tough times, it was Nagy who stood beside him, guiding him carefully, helping him navigate through shadows and find his strength again.

Aldrich felt genuine happiness for Larmore.

While he was excited, he wouldn't consider elevating Larmore to a starting role simply due to his contributions in two substitute appearances. It was evident that Liverpool's main focus for marking would be on Ronaldinho, Larsson, and Klose. Larmore, overlooked, had the advantage of stronger teammates to shield him, allowing him to emerge as a deadly attacking threat.

Had that previous attack been initiated by Nedvěd, then regardless of whether Simpson could catch up, Hyypiä wouldn't trust a midfield player to contain the umph of that attack.

Still, a good substitute was exactly what Millwall needed.

The Liverpool players hung their heads, particularly Owen, who watched from a distance as Larmore celebrated with his teammates.

In his mind, he recalled the moment Aldrich had knocked at his door and was turned away.

If he could rewind time, would he still have shut that door?

"The match is finished! The defending champions Millwall have beaten their opponents in two consecutive matches with the same score line! Tottenham and Liverpool have both become sacrifices along their path to defensively retain their title this season. Two back-to-back 4-0 victories announce how Millwall will approach every challenger, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leeds United—teams that are said to be eyeing the championship. They might only face Millwall twice throughout the season, yet this unstoppable momentum could impose unprecedented psychological pressure on them. But welcome to the Premier League—this is the game of the strong; to conquer pressure and surpass oneself is the only way to reign supreme!"