When the match restarted, everyone quickly noticed that the previous back-and-forth offensive ceased.
Hull City's players began to actively fall back, no longer pressing aggressively in the midfield and attacking third.
Tall center-backs like Ranocchia and Maguire stood firmly at the edge of their own penalty area, like two aircraft carriers guarding their waters!
This was the result of Marco Silva's instructions being relayed to the frontline.
After taking a one-goal lead, Hull City began to defend with their entire team!
But Zhao Zhao, standing on the sidelines, revealed a subtle, knowing smile.
Wasn't all of this within his expectations?
He had completely anticipated Marco Silva's anticipation of his anticipation!
Thus, Zhao Zhao also directed his players to begin executing the pre-planned attacking movements, specifically targeting Hull City's defensive formation!
This was also the focus of Sunderland's training over the past week.
The first to be drawn out were Hull City's three midfielders.
These three players were relatively slow, so Sunderland frequently used the "diagonal transfers" that Zhao Zhao had emphasized before the match, constantly pulling apart Hull City's midfield defensive space, and also draining their energy and stamina.
Among the opponent's three midfielders, there was also a key breakthrough point: the Englishman Clucas.
Because Clucas actually more often played as a wide midfielder in a 4-4-2 system; he could even play as a winger or full-back, and his technical characteristics leaned more towards crossing.
In other words, Clucas's defensive ability and ability to organize attacks were somewhat inferior to the other two true defensive midfielders, Huddlestone and Ndiaye.
Therefore, under Zhao Zhao's instruction, Sunderland's attacking midfielder, Januzaj, would frequently combine with striker Defoe to apply high-intensity pressing and pressure on Clucas.
As a result, Clucas was often forced into a panic, finding it difficult to control the ball, and even harder to carry it past midfield or pass it to his own forwards.
As Sunderland's pressure on Hull City's midfield gradually increased, opportunities slowly began to emerge.
In the 25th minute, when Clucas once again took possession in the center, Zhao Zhao shouted from the sidelines, "Go!"
Defoe immediately pressed forward.
Clucas turned to shield the ball, intending to pass it to Robertson on the other side.
But Januzaj had already followed Defoe, charging over and positioning himself between the two, blocking that passing lane.
Clucas hesitated for a moment, then prepared to pass back to his own center-back.
But it was too late; Sunderland's defensive midfielder, Cattermole, had already charged forward with great understanding upon seeing his two teammates begin to press, and with a tackle, he dispossessed the ball.
After winning the ball, Cattermole did not immediately launch a counter-attack, as the opponent's defensive line was still relatively intact.
This was one of the benefits of Hull City's defensive strategy, as their four defenders generally did not push too far forward, thus not losing their positions.
But Cattermole was already prepared for this; after all, Zhao Zhao had emphasized many times how to deal with such situations!
So, Cattermole instead passed the ball back to the right-back, Billy Jones.
Hull City's players all thought Billy Jones would carry the ball forward, or pass it to Januzaj directly in front of him to organize an attack, so they rushed over to block.
But unexpectedly, the full-back simply carried the ball forward two steps with the momentum, and then unleashed a direct long pass!
The ball soared over the halfway line, across a large portion of the pitch, and landed directly at the edge of Hull City's penalty area.
Such a pass did not require a player to have extremely precise footwork.
Because as long as someone was there, and he passed it to a roughly correct position, there would be no problem.
This was exactly the case now.
At the edge of the penalty area, Khazri and Defoe had already launched like twin arrows, sprinting forward side-by-side!
And the closest Hull City player to them was only the full-back Elmohamady, and he was still five or six meters away!
This was the "strong side of attack" that Zhao Zhao had been demanding before the match, and which had now been created!
Khazri received Billy Jones's long pass; he also had the advantage in the speed contest with Elmohamady, and with an acceleration, he left his opponent behind.
This was also why Zhao Zhao demanded to play on this side.
It was because on Hull City's two flanks, Robertson was strong in both attack and defense, making him relatively difficult to break through.
Whereas Elmohamady was strong in attack but weak in defense, and also not as fast as Robertson, making it easier to exploit Khazri's advantages.
At this point, after breaking through, Khazri immediately began to run down the wing to the byline, while Defoe ran in the opposite direction, directly penetrating Hull City's penalty area.
This made it difficult for the covering Hull City center-back, Ranocchia, to make a decision.
Should he follow Defoe, or defend Khazri?
No matter what he did, he would be caught out.
But in a flash, he couldn't think that much; after all, Khazri had already carried the ball from near the byline into the penalty area, and was about to reach the six-yard box.
If he didn't stop his advance, this Tunisia international forward would directly face their goalkeeper, Jakupović!
So, Ranocchia bit the bullet and ran towards the wing, cutting off the space, which was Khazri's direction of advance.
At this moment, the predictable happened.
Khazri had already observed Defoe's run; when Ranocchia came over, Defoe was completely unmarked!
So, the question is, where was the other center-back, Maguire?
He had already been drawn out when Sunderland began their "feint to the east, attack to the west"; just now, when Billy Jones made the long pass, Maguire was running near the center circle.
Upon seeing the pass, Maguire turned and ran back, and he was still in the process of turning around!
So now, Khazri's choice was very clear.
He gently pushed with his left foot, delivering a cut-back cross.
The pass was perfectly weighted; Defoe received Khazri's pass at the penalty spot and directly shot to the far corner!
Poor Hull City goalkeeper Jakupović only managed a desperate dive, but he could only helplessly watch as the ball slipped past his fingertips and rolled into the net behind him.
"Goal, goal! Sunderland's goal!"
"Fifteen minutes after Hull City scored, away team Sunderland also broke through Hull City's goal, leveling the score at 1-1!"
"This was a shot from center-forward Defoe near the penalty spot; Khazri, who switched to the left wing today, delivered a precise cross, and Defoe's shot was also beautiful."
"This is also Defoe's seventh goal for Sunderland in the last seven matches!"
"He has now scored 18 goals in the Premier League this season, ranking 6th in the top scorers' list."
"The five top scorers ahead of him are Harry Kane of Tottenham, Lukaku of Everton, Alexis Sánchez of Arsenal, Diego Costa of Chelsea, and Aguero of Manchester City."
"Considering that these teams are all in the top seven, and Sunderland is a relegation zone team, it is truly not easy for Defoe to score so many goals!"
"Furthermore, considering that Defoe's first 11 goals were scored in 30 matches, while the last 7 only took 7 games… "
"This further illustrates that under Zhao Zhao's leadership, this England striker Defoe has truly found new life! His efficiency has improved too much!"
"Of course, Defoe himself is also very determined; he has fully integrated into Zhao Zhao's tactical system and has frequently repaid Coach Zhao's trust in him with goals!"
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