When the players finished their warm-up and returned to the locker room, Zhao Zhao immediately found Defoe and pulled him aside.
Regardless of whether Defoe was the team's top star and top scorer, even if he were just an ordinary player, suddenly withdrawing him from the starting lineup would require some communication.
Players in reality are not like the cold data in games; everyone has rich emotions.
Moreover, everyone will have completely different reactions when facing different situations, which is also unlike the limited dialogue options in games.
Sometimes, if not handled well, it might cause instability in the locker room and directly affect the team's performance!
Star players like Defoe have great influence in the locker room, so they cannot be casually brushed off.
Therefore, Zhao Zhao carefully considered his words before speaking to Defoe: "Jermain, I feel your condition isn't quite right, so I need to substitute you for now; please wait on the bench."
However, what Zhao Zhao didn't expect was that Defoe showed no expression of shock, disappointment, or anger upon hearing the news.
Instead, he just looked at Zhao Zhao with a bit of surprise: "Coach, you know too? Actually, I was just thinking that my current condition doesn't seem suitable for starting today, but I was hesitating whether to tell you…"
"Ah?" Zhao Zhao was stunned.
"Sigh, I only got the news an hour ago." Defoe's eyes suddenly reddened a bit, "You said, wasn't little Bradley's condition improving? Why did it suddenly worsen again? This really makes me a bit distracted."
"Oh…" Zhao Zhao understood.
No wonder Defoe's performance in the simulated match was so poor; it was because of this!
And Zhao Zhao, of course, didn't know about this.
Ever since Sunderland's consecutive victories, little Bradley's condition had improved quite a bit, and Zhao Zhao, busy with tactical research and daily training, indeed hadn't visited him frequently at the hospital.
But now, Zhao Zhao could only go along with it to avoid further complications.
He gently patted Defoe's shoulder and comforted him: "His illness is like this, it comes and goes, so you don't need to worry too much."
"As long as we do our part, we can help him the most. Look how happy he was when we beat Manchester United and Middlesbrough!"
"As long as he gets his spirits up, he will definitely defeat the illness! So, we must win today too!"
"I promise you, even if you're not on the field, we can still work hard to win the match! Rest assured!"
"By the way, if you're really worried about little Bradley, you can ask for leave to see him, it's alright."
Hearing Zhao Zhao say this, Defoe's eyes also became firm: "I'm truly grateful that you say that. But I'm fine, Coach. I may not play today, but I will stay here and fight alongside everyone!"
"Good. You are the big brother in the team, our star player, and everyone truly needs you!" Zhao Zhao patted Defoe's shoulder again, then walked to the center of the locker room and clapped his hands at the players:
"Alright, brothers, our starting lineup has changed, so listen carefully now, we will make the following adjustments…"
-----------------
When the scoreboard above the Stadium of Light showed the match time at 60 minutes and the score as Sunderland 0:1 Leicester City, the home fans fell silent.
Due to the previous three consecutive victories, and the feat of overcoming the Manchester City duo, Sunderland fans had been full of expectations for today's match.
After all, although Leicester City was the previous champion, their overall strength was clearly not as good as Manchester City or Manchester United.
Playing at home today, they naturally hoped the team could decisively defeat their opponent and immediately jump out of the relegation zone!
But what they didn't expect was that throughout the first half, although Sunderland did control the game and kept attacking Leicester City's goal, they couldn't score.
Leicester City's current coach, Shakespeare, while he wouldn't create beautiful poems on the field like the famous British playwright of the same name, he knew how to make good use of the players he had.
The 4-4-2 starting lineup he fielded today was almost identical to the one Ranieri used to win the championship last season.
The goalkeeper was Schmeichel, and the four defenders from left to right were Fuchs, Morgan, Huth, and Simpson.
The four midfielders were Mahrez, Drinkwater, Andy King, and Albrighton.
The two strikers were Vardy and Shinji Okazaki.
It can be said that, apart from Kante who left the team, no other position had changed!
After the match began, Sunderland immediately launched wave after wave of fierce attacks on Leicester City's defense.
And Leicester City was indeed determined to defend.
Although the formation appeared to have two strikers, Shinji Okazaki often dropped back very deep, often forming a nine-man defensive stance, leaving only Vardy in the front to counter-attack.
In such a situation, let alone Sunderland's attack, it would be difficult for any strong Premier League team to break through their defensive formation.
The match remained stalemated until the second half, and then Leicester City scored first.
In the 60th minute, Leicester City won the ball in their own half and passed it to the wing. Mahrez skillfully broke through Oviedo's defense and then delivered a direct cross.
Vardy, in the center, met the ball with a header, scoring past the goal defended by Pickford.
0:1, Sunderland was behind!
This goal actually exposed Sunderland's defensive problems on the flanks.
Oviedo, the Costa Rican international, actually had well-balanced abilities: some speed, some skill, some defense, but nothing particularly outstanding.
In other words, he was very mediocre.
Such a player playing as a starter in a relegation-battling team like Sunderland was certainly not a big problem—in fact, weaker teams often liked to use such players.
But if Zhao Zhao wanted to lead the team further next season, that position would definitely need an upgrade.
Moreover, there were also defensive issues in the center for this goal.
O'Shea and Leicester City were both thirty-five or thirty-six years old; although their bodies were still strong, their reactions had indeed slowed down.
Vardy's header wasn't actually his strong suit, but he managed to shake off the two central defenders with his agile movement and head the ball.
There's no helping it; it's an objective law in sports.
For players of that age, the decline in competitive form can sometimes be very sudden; they might instantly fall below Premier League team standards next season.
So, if Sunderland were to sign new players next season, the defense would definitely be the top priority.
…
These were Zhao Zhao's thoughts on the sideline after Leicester City scored.
As for being behind…
He wasn't worried at all!
The current progression was exactly the same as in the simulated match, so what did he have to worry about?
If Sunderland had taken the lead instead, that would be what Zhao Zhao needed to fear… because the simulator would be inaccurate!
For Zhao Zhao, all he had to do next was follow the simulated match's progression, and he could steadily win the game!