Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp seemed increasingly worried now that New Manchester United had shifted their full attention back to the league.
While the Red Rebels had been dividing their focus between Europe and the FA Cup, Portsmouth still had not managed to establish a comfortable lead over them.
At present, New Manchester United had played two fewer matches than Portsmouth, yet Portsmouth were only five points ahead.
In other words, if New Manchester United won both games in hand, they would actually move one point above Portsmouth.
That made Redknapp deeply anxious.
It also left him somewhat irritated.
He believed Mourinho had repeatedly used the media to put pressure on Portsmouth before matches, preventing his players from performing as freely as he wanted.
New Manchester United, meanwhile, had continued producing strong league performances despite having to prepare for Lazio.
Their squad players had stepped up impressively.
Villa in particular had been excellent, scoring four goals in the last three league matches.
Along with Kaká, his form had allowed the Red Rebels to maintain constant pressure on Portsmouth.
Only two league fixtures remained in May.
On May 3, New Manchester United would travel to Portsmouth for what would effectively be a decisive battle in the title race.
Portsmouth needed to win that match if they wanted to guarantee the championship.
What gave Redknapp some hope was New Manchester United's schedule.
After playing Lazio away on April 25, the Red Rebels had a rearranged league fixture against Millwall on April 29.
And there was no love lost between those two clubs.
Even though New Manchester United would be playing at home, there was no doubt that the match would be intense.
Millwall would certainly try to make life difficult for them.
"Millwall had better take New Manchester United down!"
Redknapp could not believe he was placing his hopes on a club he had little affection for.
After facing New Manchester United, Portsmouth would have a full week to recover.
The Red Rebels would not.
They still had another rearranged league match in midweek against Sheffield Wednesday, who were hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone.
That promised to be another difficult fixture.
The one advantage for New Manchester United was that it would also be played at Old Trafford.
"Those bloody FA officials. What kind of fixture list is this? Why do New Manchester United have so many home matches at the end of the season?"
Redknapp could only complain.
He conveniently ignored the fact that every club played the same number of home and away fixtures.
New Manchester United had also repeatedly requested that some of their postponed matches be rescheduled again, only for the FA to reject those requests.
Instead, the rearranged fixtures had been placed directly between the difficult matches against Lazio and Portsmouth.
The Red Rebels themselves had complained about that more than once.
The final round of the league season would take place on May 10.
Portsmouth would host Coventry City.
New Manchester United would travel to Derby County.
If there was a clear winner when Portsmouth and New Manchester United met, then those final fixtures might no longer matter much.
That was precisely why everyone at Portsmouth placed enormous importance on the match against the Red Rebels.
Redknapp repeatedly drilled defensive counter-attacking tactics in training.
He was realistic enough to understand that at New Manchester United's home ground, trying to attack them openly would be close to suicide.
Just look at their league statistics.
New Manchester United had scored 105 goals in 42 league matches.
That was an average of 2.5 goals per game.
At the other end, they had conceded only seventeen.
They possessed the best defensive record in the First Division as well.
And that was before even considering their UEFA Cup semi-final against Lazio.
The two legs had demonstrated two completely different sides of Mourinho's team.
At Old Trafford, New Manchester United had destroyed Lazio 4-0.
It had been a sensational result that shocked everyone.
Their opponents were Lazio, one of Serie A's strongest teams and one of the best defensive sides in Italy that season.
To beat them 4-0 showed just how devastating New Manchester United's attack could be.
Then came the second leg.
Under relentless pressure from Lazio, the Red Rebels defended stubbornly and kept the score at 0-0.
That match demonstrated exactly how strong their defensive structure could be.
Every time Redknapp thought about it, he felt increasingly helpless.
He was beginning to wonder whether Portsmouth had any effective way of dealing with them.
Attack?
Their defence was almost impossible to break down.
Defend?
Their attack could overwhelm you.
What exactly were Portsmouth supposed to do?
All Redknapp could do was hope that Millwall caused New Manchester United serious problems in the rearranged fixture before their meeting.
Ideally, the match would descend into another brawl.
Then perhaps the FA would intervene, punish New Manchester United, deduct points, and Portsmouth could simply take the title and secure promotion.
That would be perfect.
...
Ethan also attached great importance to the home match against Millwall.
The supporters were already calling it a revenge match.
He was not particularly worried about the team losing.
If anything, New Manchester United's players always seemed especially motivated for matches like this.
That had been obvious from their performances in training.
His main concern was the supporters.
He did not want trouble in the stands at a home fixture.
Nothing good could come from that.
Because of this, Ethan asked Old Trafford's stadium management to arrange for five hundred police officers to maintain order around the ground.
New Manchester United also refused to allocate away tickets to Millwall supporters, citing concerns that known hooligans might infiltrate the stadium.
Ethan admittedly had another reason for supporting that decision.
Without away supporters inside, Old Trafford would belong entirely to New Manchester United.
Millwall would be walking into a completely hostile environment.
Although it was only a rearranged league fixture, the match unexpectedly attracted nearly fifty thousand supporters.
That surprised many people.
Almost all of them wore the Red Rebels' red shirts or green-and-gold colours.
The stands surrounding the pitch looked like a sea of red.
Many Millwall supporters had travelled with the team but were refused entry to Old Trafford.
Some reacted angrily and behaved recklessly outside the stadium.
Manchester police stationed around the ground immediately arrested those responsible.
The heavy police presence sent a very clear message.
This was Manchester.
Not London.
When Millwall's players emerged from the tunnel to warm up, deafening boos crashed down from the stands.
The noise felt almost overwhelming.
Every bit of it was directed at them.
Across the pitch, New Manchester United's players were warming up as well.
Even then, several of them kept glancing towards Millwall with openly hostile expressions.
The memory of what had happened during the previous meeting was still fresh.
Many of Millwall's more timid players remembered the brutal aftermath of that confrontation and immediately felt uneasy.
Cahill in particular felt a chill run down his spine.
He looked across at Curtis.
Curtis was staring straight back at him.
The expression in his eyes reminded Cahill of the moment Curtis had charged towards him during the previous incident.
Cahill remembered the miserable months he had spent recovering afterwards.
His unease deepened.
"These lunatics aren't planning revenge at home, are they?"
...
"Hey, Curtis, that bastard's staring at you," Terry said with a laugh.
Curtis was already watching Cahill.
He gave a cold smile.
"Maybe he needs another lesson.
"If he tries anything later, I'll make sure he regrets it."
"The boss said we can be a little more aggressive today," Essien said with a grin as he walked over.
Curtis nodded.
"This is our home ground.
"Of course we're going to settle what happened away."
"Just remember Portsmouth are next," Terry warned him.
"Don't get yourself suspended."
"Relax. I know what I'm doing," Curtis replied.
He turned towards Essien.
"Michael, keep an eye on Cahill later.
"He plays dirty.
"Don't let him injure any of our players."
The way Curtis said it made him sound almost like a gang leader assigning jobs before a fight.
Essien grinned.
"I won't let him enjoy himself."
The young Red Rebels had already left Millwall's players battered in the previous confrontation.
Yet somehow, they still felt as if they had been the ones wronged.
Now that they were back on home soil, even if they could not simply settle matters physically, they intended to make Millwall suffer on the pitch.
After the warm-up, the starting eleven returned to the dressing room.
Mourinho's lineup featured Villa up front.
Ribéry and Palacio started on the wings.
Kaká played as the attacking midfielder.
Juninho and Essien formed the double pivot.
The back four, from left to right, consisted of Philipp Lahm, Terry, Curtis, and Kolo Touré.
Čech started in goal.
"Ricardo, you'd better turn it on today," Curtis said.
"Crush those bastards.
"Make them regret coming here."
He was obviously referring to Millwall.
"Don't worry," Kaká replied with a smile.
"I've been feeling very good lately."
He had not travelled for the second leg against Lazio, which meant he was fresh and physically sharp.
Curtis then looked towards Villa, Ribéry, and Palacio.
"You three as well.
"Step it up.
"The boss spent several days in hospital because of those bastards.
"If we don't make them pay today, I won't be able to let it go."
The moment Ethan's attack was mentioned, the mood inside the dressing room changed.
The players immediately became angry.
Ethan had always treated them well and had earned enormous respect from the squad.
Now that they finally had a chance to answer what had happened to him, everyone became even more determined.
"We'll do to them here what they tried to do to us at their place," Curtis continued.
"And we'll destroy them on the pitch as well.
"Make them dread facing us ever again.
"Make sure they never think they can bully us."
His words immediately received enthusiastic support.
The players even began suggesting different ways to make the match miserable for Millwall.
Essien's idea in particular received unanimous approval.
At that moment, Mourinho pushed open the dressing room door and walked inside.
He had not heard what they had been discussing.
He went straight towards the tactics board and began explaining the plan for the match.
He also highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the Millwall players they needed to monitor closely.
"My instructions are simple.
"From the first minute, put them under pressure.
"Completely suppress them.
"Make them understand that this is our home ground.
"Can you do that?"
"Yes!" the players answered together.
"Good."
Mourinho looked around the dressing room.
"When I spoke to the media earlier, I said this wasn't a match where I needed to motivate you.
"I know you want this victory even more than I do.
"So I don't need to give you some long speech."
He paused.
"I only have one thing to say.
"Kill those bastards!"
The dressing room erupted in agreement.
Every player looked fired up.
When they emerged from the dressing room and entered the tunnel, the Red Rebels looked ready for battle.
Then they came face to face with Millwall.
Every New Manchester United player seemed to radiate hostility.
The Millwall players, normally so accustomed to intimidating opponents themselves, suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Under normal circumstances, they might have stared back and challenged them.
What are you looking at?
Looking for trouble?
Not this time.
They were facing eleven furious players.
And the memory of their previous confrontation still hung over them.
Several Millwall players immediately lost their nerve.
Some of the more timid ones did not even dare raise their heads.
Mourinho noticed the contrast and could not suppress a trace of satisfaction.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Tactics and technique mattered.
But mentally, he wanted his team to be just as fearless, defiant, and unwilling to yield as he was.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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