The moment Borini scored, Zhao Zhao merely pumped his fist in celebration, but that was all.
He was like a director now, having had his actors rehearse many times, and now it was just the finished film being screened.
More than anything, his face was filled with a satisfied smile.
Just as James Jun had said, Sunderland's goal could only be described with one word: perfect!
Through the overall positioning of the players, they perfectly broke Hull City's high press, and then completed a perfect counter-attack through passing and playing behind the defense.
It could be said that every link in the entire goal-scoring process operated as precisely as intricate gears, with even greater precision and tactical fluidity than the first goal!
However, Marco Silva on the other side couldn't manage a smile at all.
He was completely bewildered.
How did things change so drastically, just like that?
Whether he wanted to defend or attack, he couldn't get his timing right; it felt like Sunderland was leading him by the nose the whole time.
"Motherfucker, it can't be that every single step was calculated by that young coach, can it?"
Marco Silva didn't want to think that way, but his mind couldn't help but go there.
After all, although the process of that last goal was a bit complex, Sunderland's execution was truly practiced!
Especially the striker's retreat and then sudden forward burst, everyone was so decisive, as if it was a routine rehearsed countless times.
If only one player did this, it would be understandable, one could say that player had good awareness.
But if all players executed it uniformly…
Then it could only mean that the coach had intentionally designed it.
Thinking of this, Marco Silva couldn't help but glance towards the away team's dugout again.
This time, however, Zhao Zhao didn't look back.
He had already sat down, crossed his legs, and was leisurely watching the match…
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Neither side scored in the final few minutes of the first half, and the two teams went into the second half with a score of 1:2.
During halftime, Zhao Zhao didn't say much to the players, only telling them to maintain their current state and execute what they had practiced in training.
On the other side, Marco Silva provided guidance and encouragement to his players, hoping they could rally and regain their momentum at home!
However, Marco Silva only provided psychological motivation, but he didn't make any effective tactical adjustments.
The main reason was that his own weaknesses in the central defense and midfield were indeed very obvious, and it was clear that Zhao Zhao was exploiting these weaknesses to attack fiercely.
This kind of chronic problem was difficult to change in a short period, and it wasn't something a coach of Marco Silva's caliber could change.
On that note, if he had been able to make improvements earlier, Hull City wouldn't be in the relegation zone now…
And for the Hull City players, there was no change in tactics, and psychologically, they hadn't really been motivated either.
After all, the shadow of conceding two consecutive goals and being overtaken still loomed in their hearts, difficult to disperse.
When the match restarted, their formation on the field was a bit chaotic, and they also started to become a bit indecisive.
Sunderland, on the other hand, played smoother and smoother!
They were like fierce tigers descending from the mountain, constantly and frantically assaulting Hull City's defense.
This made it very difficult for Hull City to control the ball, and as soon as they were pressed by the opponent, they could only pass backward.
On one hand, this was a tactical issue, not knowing how to deal with such pressing;
On the other hand, it was psychological.
With their morale low at this point, they seemed to have lost their determination and confidence to attack forward, and when passing, they chose safer options more often, as no one wanted to take the blame.
But as a result, the second half became a one-sided affair.
Seeing such a scene, Marco Silva became even more anxious.
How come his halftime talk was useless?
"How are you playing? Didn't you eat enough? Even the coaching staff could beat you!"
He stood on the sidelines roaring, constantly waving his hands, signaling his players to move forward.
Only by running forward and passing forward would there be a chance to score!
After all, Hull City was the team trailing now!
But the problem was that the Hull City players were having psychological issues, coupled with Sunderland's extensive running coverage and pressing, making it difficult for Hull City players to find suitable passing lanes in the first instant.
It was a bit better in the backfield, but once they reached the midfield area, it seemed like every Hull City player had two or three Sunderland players lurking nearby, how could they go forward?
Go forward, go forward, are you Zhao Xiangqian?
And if they didn't go through the midfield, but instead had defenders directly launch long passes to the forwards, it was even less reliable.
The opposing two center-backs, O'Shea and Lescott, were both tall and strong, and they were not at all intimidated by direct confrontations with Hull City's forwards.
After easily heading away several high balls, Hull City's method also fizzled out.
The rest of the match completely fell into Sunderland's rhythm.
In the 78th minute, Januzaj once again dropped back to receive the ball.
Because in today's match, Januzaj had already pulled Hull City's defense out of position many times with his runs from the attacking midfield position, everyone was a bit wary and didn't dare to follow him immediately.
They were afraid of losing their own position!
But this time, Januzaj didn't make another return run; instead, after receiving a pass from a teammate, he immediately sent a forward diagonal long pass!
It turned out that this time he had observed his teammate's position before dropping back to prepare to deliver a dangerous pass.
Over there, although Borini, the goal-scorer from earlier, had been tightly marked by the opposing full-back Robertson, another figure had already surged forward behind Borini.
That was the vice-captain, defensive midfielder Cattermole!
This was actually also Zhao Zhao's tactic of late runs from deep.
Due to the sudden forward surge from the defensive midfield position, Hull City players simply didn't have time to mark him.
So, when Cattermole came up, he easily received the ball, took a touch towards the penalty area, and then immediately shot!
The ball was struck as a low shot, almost in a straight line, passing by goalkeeper Jakupović's side and into the Hull City goal behind him.
1:3!
Sunderland scored again!
The entire Kingston Communications Stadium instantly fell silent again.
"This Sunderland team really has too many attacking threats!"
"The striker can score, the winger can score, and now the attacking midfielder can pass directly to the defensive midfielder who can also score!"
"How can Hull City defend against this?!"
"One could even say that Sunderland has already secured this match! They will take the most solid step on their path to survival!"
Amidst the cheers from the away stand, Marco Silva's bitter face was reflected in the broadcast camera.
He truly regretted it now!
Didn't they start well? Why change tactics? Why keep changing?
If they hadn't changed, would the outcome have been much better than now?
All the predictions and counter-predictions, in the end, seemed to have led him straight into the trap Zhao Zhao had designed for him…