Time quietly slipped away amidst Zhao Zhao's targeted training.
April 19, 2017.
Tonight, Sunderland will challenge the formidable Manchester City at Etihad Stadium.
In fact, for this match, apart from a very small number of 'die-hard fans' who are blindly optimistic about Zhao Zhao, most media and fans are not optimistic about Sunderland.
The reason is simple: the strength gap between the two sides is simply too large.
Look at the starting lineup Guardiola has fielded today.
Today, Manchester City is playing a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The goalkeeper is the Chilean international, Bravo, whom Guardiola brought from Barça.
In the defense, the left-back is the Serbian star Kolarov; the center-back pairing is Belgian captain Kompany and Argentinian strongman Nicolás Otamendi; and the right-back is the speedy winger Navas.
The two defensive midfielders are Brazilian international Fernandinho and Yaya Touré, who has been named African Footballer of the Year for four consecutive years.
The attacking trio consists of England international Sterling on the left, Bundesliga's best player and last season's Manchester City Player of the Season De Bruyne on the right, and Spanish star David Silva in the middle.
The lone striker at the very front is Argentinian international Aguero, Manchester City's all-time leading scorer!
This starting lineup can be said to be full of stars.
And on the bench, there are also German newcomer Sane, German international Gundogan, Brazilian newcomer Gabriel Jesus, Argentinian veteran Zabaleta, French international Clichy, England international Stones, and others!
Even players who didn't make the squad today include familiar names like Sagna, Fernando, Iheanacho, and Delph.
It can be said that while this Manchester City squad is still a bit short of Guardiola's ideal state, compared to Sunderland, it is incredibly rich in talent.
In the Sunderland squad, famous players are 'retired veterans from big clubs' like Defoe, O'Shea, and Lescott, while young players are leftovers from big clubs like Januzaj, or even discards...
The difference is truly immense!
And from Manchester City's starting lineup today, one can also see Guardiola's attitude towards this match.
Actually, in his usual starting lineups, he tends to use the more balanced Clichy as the main left-back, while on the right it would be Zabaleta or Sagna.
But today, he has Kolarov on the left, whose characteristics include excellent technique, a tendency to push forward when given the opportunity, and a powerful long-range shot and free-kick ability.
On the right is Navas, who is originally a winger; his speed is extremely fast, and his dribbling, change of direction, and acceleration to beat players on the wing can be said to be exceptional.
Using such a combination of two extremely offensive full-backs indicates that Guardiola is ready to go all out on the attack and secure these three points comfortably at home!
Furthermore, Manchester City's midfield control can be said to be unrivaled in the Premier League.
Guardiola brought his tiki-taka philosophy from Barça to Manchester City, and the midfield combination composed of De Bruyne, David Silva, and Yaya Touré, among others, can clearly achieve this.
Throughout the Premier League, it's hard to find another team that can compete with them in midfield control.
Coupled with the fact that Manchester City is currently at a crucial moment in the race for a Champions League spot, the players' fighting spirit is high.
Facing such a team, and playing away from home, the difficulties Sunderland faces are imaginable, and it's understandable that they are not favored.
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In Sunderland's locker room.
All the players sat there, looking up at Coach Zhao Zhao, who stood in front of the tactics board.
On Zhao Zhao's face, there was still that confident gaze, showing no fear whatsoever because today's opponent was Manchester City!
This also boosted everyone's morale.
As long as the boss is confident, everyone will be confident!
And for Zhao Zhao, he certainly had confidence.
After a week of intensive defensive training, Sunderland had developed a very good containment method against Manchester City's control-based playstyle.
Just this morning, Zhao Zhao also used the system to conduct two simulated matches and got good results.
One was a narrow 0-1 loss, and the other was a 0-0 draw against the opponent!
To be honest, if Sunderland could draw Manchester City away and take one point, it would already be a great success, and Zhao Zhao wouldn't be overly greedy.
After all, in the remaining schedule, apart from facing league leaders Chelsea, the other opponents won't be too strong.
As long as they can defeat those opponents, especially direct relegation rivals like Swansea, Watford, and other teams, Sunderland can escape relegation!
Of course, simulations are simulations, and to achieve the best results in the actual match, the tactical key points before the game still need to be emphasized.
"The hard work you've put in on the training ground over the past week is about to bear fruit today. I have great confidence in you!"
At this moment, Zhao Zhao was placing pieces on the tactics board while speaking to the players:
"But to emerge unscathed from Manchester City, just having confidence is not enough. You must fully exert the state you had in training into the match and perform your best!"
"You've all seen their starting lineup. Today they're playing a 4-2-3-1, which is more offensive than usual."
"So, what we need to do today is to control their key players in the match, not allowing them to execute their combinations comfortably!"
Saying this, Zhao Zhao pointed to the blue pieces representing Manchester City on the tactics board, first introducing the characteristics of the opposing players:
"On the left, don't let Sterling's low shooting accuracy fool you; he's very fast and excels at cutting in and penetrating."
"De Bruyne's position on the right will be more flexible. He appears to be playing as a right winger, but often drops back into midfield to become a false winger, supplying ammunition to the striker. He will also frequently overlap and deliver deadly crosses from the byline."
"David Silva goes without saying; his technique is excellent, and he has the ability to suddenly accelerate, break through, and shoot. You must pay very close attention to him."
"And in Guardiola's system, even a pure striker like Aguero will often drop back into midfield to increase numbers in the midfield and strengthen control."
"Manchester City already has strong midfield control, and with the striker dropping back, this makes it very difficult for most teams' midfields to compete with them."
"Therefore, today you must do what I told you to do in training..."
Zhao Zhao was speaking, and the players listened intently.
In fact, everyone understood that Sunderland's tactic today was one word: defend!
This might sound a bit pragmatic, but when facing a team far superior in strength, this is the only way.
The problem is, weak teams all over the world know they need to defend when facing strong teams, but not many actually manage to hold them off!
This also truly tests the wisdom of the Coach.
Fortunately, they now have such a Coach.
What Zhao Zhao had been telling them these past few days, they were slowly absorbing, digesting, then putting into practice through training matches, and then summarizing and improving.
They also gradually understood Zhao Zhao's tactical key points.
They are truly distinctive, and feel very feasible!
Moreover, many Sunderland players are Premier League veterans, and they are well aware that if it's 100% defense, there's a high probability they won't be able to hold out.
They must seize the opponent's weaknesses and look for opportunities to counter-attack to make the opponent wary, thereby reducing their own defensive pressure.
As expected, Zhao Zhao then tapped the right side of the tactics board several times emphatically:
"Next, I will emphasize the key directions for counter-attacks..."