The next day, as expected, numerous sports newspapers reported on the Manchester United versus Sunderland match on their front pages.
There were simply too many points of interest that could attract traffic!
"Sunderland Comes Back from Two Goals Down to Win Three, Completing a Stunning Comeback Against Manchester United!"
"Defoe Scores a Hat-Trick at Old Trafford, Fulfilling His Promise to Little Bradley"
"Two Red Cards, Two Penalties, a Controversial Premier League Showdown"
"Played with Guts! Sunderland's Desperate Fight for Survival, Sounding the Charge for the Relegation Battle"
"Football Association: Zhao Zhao Violated Rules During the Match, Fined 5,000 Euros"
"Sunderland Owner Short: Zhao Zhao's Fine Was for the Team, the Club Will Cover the Cost"
Of course, more newspapers focused on the confrontation between Zhao Zhao and Mourinho, two Coaches with strong personalities.
Several newspapers even prominently displayed the same photo on their front pages, as if by prior arrangement.
In the photo, Zhao Zhao is passionately sliding on his knees on the grass, with a dejected Mourinho in the background.
"Rookie Coach Zhao Zhao Defeats Mourinho, Winning the Battle of the Madmen"
"Mourinho Falls into Zhao Zhao's Trap? Sent Off Mid-Match, Causing Team to Lose Momentum"
"The Calm One and the Passionate One Completely Overwhelmed the Special One Tonight"
"War of Words, Mourinho Rarely Loses in a Press Conference, Zhao Zhao Has the Last Laugh!"
"He Stays! According to an anonymous Sunderland Captain, the team owner decided to keep Zhao Zhao in charge after the match."
Many professional newspapers and magazines also analyzed the match itself, and while there were still some doubts about Zhao Zhao's tactics, the overall tone was one of praise and commendation.
The Sunderland Echo believed that under Zhao Zhao's leadership, Sunderland played with their own style at Old Trafford, and the players gave their all, which made all Sunderland fans proud and honored.
"Since the start of 2017, Sunderland has struggled to win a single match. Our last Premier League victory dates back to December 17th of last year, when we narrowly defeated Watford 1-0 at home."
"Since then, including the FA Cup defeat, we have gone 14 consecutive games without a win! This makes this victory all the more precious."
"Considering the opponent was the mighty Manchester United, and it was at Old Trafford, it's even more incredible."
"But even under such circumstances, Zhao Zhao demonstrated superhuman adjustment abilities and coaching skills in the second half, leading the team to turn defeat into victory!"
"He first decisively substituted Captain O'Shea to avoid a red card and a numerical disadvantage. Then he brought on target man Anichebe, using a direct, high-ball tactic to defeat Manchester United!"
"Of course, what's most talked about is how he actually ran onto the field to instruct Pickford to save Ibrahimović's penalty! He even immediately directed the team to launch an effective counterattack."
"While we don't know how Zhao Zhao managed to do this, he did it nonetheless!"
"His Sunderland's performance in the second half was truly reborn, completely new—a major explosion after being pushed to the brink!"
However, some media outlets still expressed pessimism about Sunderland's prospects.
Although Sunderland defeated Manchester United and secured three valuable points, their crisis has not been truly resolved.
They still sit at the bottom of the 20 Premier League teams.
Currently, after 31 rounds of the Premier League, the teams at the bottom are as follows:
16th place, Crystal Palace 31 points.
17th place, Hull City 30 points.
18th place, Swansea 28 points.
19th place, Middlesbrough 26 points.
20th place, Sunderland 23 points.
The bottom three teams in the Premier League will be relegated to the EFL Championship, so Sunderland must at least climb to 17th place, which is fourth from the bottom, to successfully avoid relegation.
And now, they are still 7 points behind Hull City, who are in that position.
Don't underestimate "just" 7 points; for a relegation-threatened team struggling for wins, every single point is often very difficult to obtain, let alone 7 points!
Therefore, the next round of the Premier League will be crucial.
Because that will be Sunderland's home match against Middlesbrough, the "Battle of the Wear-Tees Derby"!
If they win, Sunderland can climb a bit further by stepping over their arch-rivals' bodies, and perhaps see the dawn of survival;
But if they lose, Sunderland might completely fall into the abyss!
And the media also expressed doubt about whether Zhao Zhao could lead Sunderland to achieve this.
After all, Zhao Zhao is a rookie Coach with no professional League experience, and his two consecutive losses at the beginning of his tenure already proved his incompetence.
Although he suddenly recovered in the second half against Manchester United, who can guarantee that this isn't just his "last hurrah"?
Sometimes, football matches are just like that; luck and random factors determine the outcome of the game.
Perhaps it was a variety of coincidences that suddenly made Zhao Zhao seem so full of tactical wisdom.
"The so-called guiding the goalkeeper to save a penalty, when you get down to it, isn't it just a gamble? It's just that Zhao Zhao happened to bet correctly."
Many people supported this view.
The headline of the Manchester Evening News was:
"Manchester United's Upset Loss Still on the Right Track, Sunderland's Comeback Reveals Its Decline!"
And even the media far away in China, although most of them firmly stood with Zhao Zhao, also had to admit:
"The test for Zhao Zhao has just begun!"
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In the morning, Zhao Zhao, as usual, rode his bicycle to Sunderland Training Base for work.
Why not drive?
He's poor!
Although he is currently Sunderland's Coach, he is only acting, and has not signed a formal contract.
So Zhao Zhao is still earning the salary of a youth team assistant Coach, with a weekly wage of only 500 euros.
Earning only 2,000 euros a month, for him, a recent graduate, it's good enough to just get by, so of course, he couldn't afford to buy a car or anything.
Fortunately, the cost of living in Sunderland is not high. Zhao Zhao doesn't spend much on renting a house near the training base, and his daily commute time isn't long either.
Riding a bicycle to work, he just considers it exercise!
However, today Zhao Zhao felt a bit different than before.
Every Sunderland citizen he met on the road greeted him warmly:
"Hello, Coach Zhao!"
"Hello, Mr. Zhao!"
"sunderland 'til i die!"
Considering their cold expressions towards him in the past two weeks, they were truly too enthusiastic today!
Even many girls would cast flirtatious glances his way.
Zhao Zhao, of course, understood why.
He and his Sunderland's great victory at Old Trafford had also won the recognition of the fans!
When he entered the training base gate, even Uncle Sam, the doorman, came over warmly to greet him and inquire about his well-being.
You know, during the two consecutive losses, Sam didn't even want to look at Zhao Zhao straight!
This wasn't some kind of "snobbery."
In fact, from the documentary "sunderland 'til i die" that Zhao Zhao watched in his previous life, he had already deeply understood the significance of football to the people living there.
In this city, almost all men, women, and children consider football one of the most important things in their lives; it can be said that it has completely integrated into their community life.
Before, how could anyone be nice to Zhao Zhao, a rookie who inexplicably became the Coach and kept leading the team to losses?
He was practically seen as a scoundrel who was ruining their most precious possession!
But now, he has become the savior in everyone's hearts, so naturally, the treatment is different.
It could be said that he went from being 'Zhao the Scapegoat' to 'Zhao the Saint'!
Zhao Zhao smiled and greeted Sam before entering, then saw rows of luxury cars in the parking lot, which indicated that many players had already arrived early at the training ground.
After the victory, everyone's training enthusiasm also increased!
Although they are a relegation-threatened team, as Premier League players, Sunderland players' weekly wages are at least 20,000 euros or more, with star player Defoe earning close to 100,000. It's no surprise they can afford luxury cars.
However, Defoe is relatively low-key; his car is a Range Rover.
Zhao Zhao parked his bicycle next to the Range Rover and then walked onto the training ground.
Starting today, he would apply the knowledge he learned from the system to actively prepare for the life-and-death battle against Middlesbrough!