May 13th, match day.
The League was in its final stages, and the entire British Isles seemed to be enveloped in a tense atmosphere.
With teams from 14th place onwards facing the risk of relegation, and those higher up facing pressure to secure European competition spots, not many teams could enter the stadium with a relaxed mindset in this round of matches.
Or, to put it another way, apart from Chelsea, who had already secured the League title, and Middlesbrough, who had already been relegated, the vast majority of teams still had to give their all!
In fact, this round not only featured a direct relegation battle between Hull City and Sunderland at Kingston Communications Stadium, but also two other highly anticipated matches.
One was in the upper half of the table, with Tottenham Hotspur hosting Manchester United.
The result of this match would determine whether Manchester United still had a chance to enter the Champions League zone.
The other was also a life-or-death struggle between relegation-threatened teams, with Watford hosting Swansea!
If Watford, ranked 16th with 38 points, could defeat Swansea, ranked 19th with 32 points, they would secure their Premier League survival a round early and effectively relegate Swansea to the EFL Championship next season.
However, if they lost and Sunderland won, Watford would be level on points with Sunderland, making the final round another life-or-death battle…
Of course, for Chinese television stations, their main focus today was the Hull City vs. Sunderland match.
After all, Sunderland now had Zhao Zhao!
Zhao Zhao's legendary journey, coupled with the winning streak miracle he had created with Sunderland, had earned the "Black Cats" immense popularity in China.
It could be said that countless Chinese fans waited in front of their televisions every weekend just to watch Sunderland's matches!
According to incomplete statistics, the number of Sunderland fans in China had even surpassed that of traditional giants like Manchester United!
This clearly demonstrated Zhao Zhao's charisma.
Of course, this also, from another perspective, confirmed how eager Chinese fans were to see a Chinese presence in high-level European Leagues.
If they couldn't see players, at least they could see a Coach!
It was truly difficult to see a genuinely top-tier Chinese person in the five major European Leagues!
Chinese fans, they were truly hungry.
Another piece of data could also illustrate this point.
The episode of "Ground Football" that featured Zhao Zhao's exclusive interview with Ma Fanfan achieved the highest viewership in nearly a decade!
This showed that everyone liked Zhao Zhao and yearned to understand him!
Therefore, whenever Sunderland had a match, almost all Chinese television stations would make it their primary broadcast target.
Forget about this week only having a relatively less eye-catching BIG6 match like Tottenham vs. Manchester United;
Even if it was a Double Red Derby between Liverpool and Manchester United, a London Derby between Chelsea and Arsenal, a Manchester Derby between Manchester United and Manchester City, or a North London Derby between Tottenham and Arsenal…
They all had to step aside!
And PPTV, which held the broadcast rights for this season's Premier League, was, of course, no exception.
"Hello, all viewers and friends, this is PPTV Sports. Welcome to the 37th round of the 2016-2017 Premier League, the match between Hull City and Sunderland at Kingston Communications Stadium. I am James Jun."
"Today, Director Zhang Lu is not feeling very well, and this match is also in the early hours of Beijing time, so he couldn't join me to commentate on this match."
"However, this might be good news for both goalkeepers, as they probably won't make any super huge mistakes now, haha, just kidding."
"Today's match is being held at Hull City's home ground, Kingston Communications Stadium. Does it sound a bit familiar to everyone? Yes, it's the same Kingston as the Kingston memory sticks you often use on your computers; they are the sponsors of Hull City's stadium."
"This stadium, located in Yorkshire, can accommodate over twenty-five thousand spectators, and from the broadcast camera, it appears to be packed. After all, this is also a life-and-death match for Hull City, and fans in Yorkshire are also very concerned."
"Interestingly, Kingston Communications Stadium was opened in 2002, and the first match it hosted was a friendly between Hull City and Sunderland, which the home team won 1-0."
"This indicates that the relationship between these two teams is quite good. But today, they must engage in a desperate struggle to remain in the Premier League!"
"Hull City's nickname is the Tigers, and Sunderland's is the Black Cats; both are felines. Today, we will see whether the Tigers with their sharp teeth are more formidable, or the Black Cats with nine lives!"
At this moment in the broadcast, both teams' players had already completed the pre-match rituals of lining up, taking photos, shaking hands, and coin toss, and were now standing in their respective halves.
The referee checked his wrist and decisively blew the whistle to start today's match.
"From the starting lineups displayed on the screen, both sides have fielded their strongest players. Hull City is in a 4-3-3 formation, while Sunderland is in a 4-2-3-1."
"From these formations, it's clear that neither side is playing conservatively in today's match. After all, it's the most crucial moment for relegation, and gaining one point is somewhat unhelpful for both sides, so they are both striving for a win."
"Indeed, Sunderland immediately started actively pressing high from the kick-off. Coach Zhao Zhao wants to take the initiative right from the start!"
"However, as we saw in the previous match against Swansea, this Sunderland team's high press is still very sharp, with strong pressure and a fast tempo."
"So, can Hull City's Coach, Marco Silva, cope with Sunderland's fast tempo? Can his 4-3-3 formation produce fluid attacks?"
Sunderland's starting lineup today was identical to the one against Swansea.
This was also the main lineup that Zhao Zhao had gradually settled on.
After all, there were only so many usable players in the squad, with not much room for choice.
And using a 4-2-3-1 formation allowed for the maximum utilization of these relatively excellent players, which was gradually adjusted after several matches.
For example, Januzaj; initially, Zhao Zhao placed him on the wing, but that somewhat wasted his ability to play through balls.
Khazri was also initially on the bench for Zhao Zhao, but his performance in recent matches had been very good, and he was physically stronger, making his breakthroughs on the wing more effective.
So, Zhao Zhao moved Januzaj to the central attacking midfield position and had Khazri play as a winger, which allowed both players' strengths to be utilized.
Teaching according to individual aptitude is also an essential skill for a good Coach!
This current lineup is relatively balanced in both offense and defense, and it can also be slightly adjusted based on the opponent and the situation on the field.
It could be said that, based on the players Zhao Zhao had, this was Sunderland's most ideal formation!
"Hmm, this is all we can do this season."
On the sidelines, Zhao Zhao stood with his hands on his hips, watching the match and thinking:
"Next season, when I spend all fifty million in the transfer market, I'll be able to adjust my tactics much more freely… Hehe!"