Under the sustained onslaught, Manchester United's opportunity finally arrived.
In the 56th minute, Sunderland midfielder Sebastian Larsson's pass went astray and was intercepted, allowing Manchester United to launch a quick attack.
Mata quickly passed the ball to Martial, who, after receiving it, continuously feinted on the wing, directly faking out Sunderland full-back Billy Jones, who had come up to defend, and then smoothly surged into the penalty area!
Kone, the center-back who had just been substituted in, saw the danger and quickly came over to provide cover.
But Martial's footwork was incredibly fast; he took a step sideways to create an angle and was about to shoot directly!
This position was already near the six-yard box, very close to the goal, and if he were allowed to shoot, there was a very high probability it would go in.
Kone lunged forward with a sliding tackle.
His idea was simple: if he could get to the ball, great; if not, he could at least get his body as low as possible to block Martial's shot.
But unexpectedly, Martial's move this time was a fake shot and a real cutback.
He lightly touched the ball with his right foot, controlled it to his left, and then switched to his left foot to shoot.
At this moment, Kone's foot could no longer be pulled back and directly tackled Martial's right foot, which was his standing leg.
"Thud!" Martial fell to the ground, accompanied by a scream.
The referee's whistle blew immediately, and he pointed to the penalty spot.
And as he ran over, the referee had already pulled out a yellow card from his pocket and waved it at Kone.
"Penalty! The referee has awarded a penalty!"
"The center-back Kone, who just came on in the second half, made a rather reckless tackle, directly bringing down Martial, and even received a yellow card."
"Already trailing 0-2, Sunderland being awarded another penalty at this moment is undoubtedly adding insult to injury."
"Manchester United is already attacking fiercely, and Sunderland has been very passive. If another goal is conceded, this match can be declared over prematurely."
"I wonder if Coach Zhao Zhao will regret his decision to substitute Kone for O'Shea… If O'Shea were still on the field, he might have handled this defense more steadily."
"Now the broadcast camera has appropriately focused on Zhao Zhao. The director is very insightful, after all, it might be difficult for Zhao Zhao to appear on camera as a Premier League Coach again in the future…"
"Huh, wait. Why is Zhao Zhao leaving the bench and running towards his own goal? What is he going to do?"
On the field, Manchester United players were celebrating the penalty.
Veterans like Rooney and Ibrahimović even high-fived Martial, expressing their appreciation for the young player's performance.
To be fair, Martial's breakthroughs when he was young were indeed very sharp, definitely not like the future Martial!
And Ibrahimović, as the team's primary penalty taker, had already unceremoniously picked up the ball and walked towards the penalty spot.
On the other side, the Sunderland players were, of course, very unhappy.
Led by team Captain Cattermole, a group of players surrounded the referee, arguing strenuously.
The reason was simple: Martial, who had just screamed as if his leg had been broken, immediately got up upon seeing the penalty awarded and began to accept his teammates' congratulations.
This clearly suggested a dive!
But at this moment, Coach Zhao Zhao had already walked along the sideline to the goal line on his team's side.
"Go away, everyone go away, let them take it!" Zhao Zhao waved his hand, dismissing his players.
Although disgruntled, with the Coach present, the Sunderland players could only grudgingly leave the penalty area, preparing to defend the penalty kick.
The referee was initially surprised to see Zhao Zhao suddenly appear there and instinctively prepared to pull out a yellow card to warn him for leaving the coaching area;
But upon seeing Zhao Zhao's actions, he couldn't help but nod slightly: This Coach is still sensible!
He put the yellow card back and then gestured for Zhao Zhao to return.
Anyway, the opponent didn't enter the field and even stopped a player protest, so it wasn't a big problem.
At this point, Zhao Zhao first nodded slightly to the referee, as if he had indeed only come to persuade his players, and then walked along the goal line towards his Goalkeeper Pickford.
At this time, Pickford was only 23 years old and had not yet been selected for the England National Team.
As a product of the Sunderland youth academy, a native-born local, he had an immense love for the team.
He certainly hoped to help the team remain in the Premier League!
And now, the team was trailing 0-2 and had been awarded a penalty.
If he couldn't save the ball, it would undoubtedly be like kicking Sunderland, already mired in the relegation battle, further down, making them completely hopeless!
At this moment, a sense of tension enveloped Pickford's entire body, and his mind was also racing, thinking about how to save the penalty.
He was so focused that when Zhao Zhao suddenly appeared behind him and patted his shoulder, Pickford jumped in surprise!
"Young man, don't be nervous, I'll tell you how to save it." Zhao Zhao leaned into Pickford's ear, looking shifty, "Later, you'll dive for the bottom right corner of the goal, which is the bottom corner on your left side. Be decisive!"
"Huh?" Pickford was stunned.
It was already a bit odd for 25-year-old Zhao Zhao to call 23-year-old him "young man."
But Pickford was even more confused: "During the pre-match briefing, we analyzed Ibrahimović's penalties and said he's most likely to shoot powerfully into the top corner, either the top left or the top center…"
"Just listen to me." Zhao Zhao waved his hand, interrupting Pickford, "Go ahead and dive confidently; if you don't save it, it's on me! Relax, no one will blame you!"
Pickford pursed his lips but still nodded, indicating he understood.
The Coach had spoken, what else could he say?
Moreover, saving penalties is inherently a psychological battle, even a form of metaphysics.
He could only do his best and leave the rest to fate!
And this scene was witnessed by everyone present, and Manchester United fans laughed.
"Is this Sunderland Coach crazy? Coming up now to teach his Goalkeeper how to save a penalty? Last-minute preparations?"
"This is called micro-management, understand? Like calling to direct a machine gunner on the battlefield to move five centimeters to the left…"
"Haha, maybe he thinks he's an omniscient God!"
Manchester United fans in the stands were buzzing with discussion, and when they saw Zhao Zhao scurrying back to the bench, they timely offered a chorus of boos as a "welcome"!
But Zhao Zhao was not affected at all.
He even confidently waved at the stands!
This, of course, drew an even louder wave of boos…
Meanwhile, on the field, the referee blew his whistle, signaling Ibrahimović to take the penalty!
Ibrahimović had already placed the ball on the penalty spot and retreated a few steps, allowing for a run-up distance.
He understood that if he scored this goal, the Sunderland players, who were still struggling in a desperate fight in the second half, would completely collapse!
Although Manchester United's offensive had been fierce before, Sunderland was like a wobbling roly-poly toy, always managing to survive the most dangerous moments.
This penalty would be the fatal blow to change such a stalemate!
And this was what Coach Mourinho on the sidelines hoped to see.
Score this penalty, and completely seal the victory!
And for the experienced Ibrahimović, completing such a task was clearly very easy.
Facing the nervous young Goalkeeper standing on the opponent's goal line, according to Ibrahimović's habit, as soon as the whistle blew, he would go straight up and then powerfully blast it!
But Zhao Zhao's action just now made Ibrahimović hesitate for a moment.
"He specifically ran up to talk to the Goalkeeper; he must have studied my penalty-taking style. So, should I still kick it the old way?"
But he didn't have much time to think.
Under the referee's urging, Ibrahimović started his run and shot!
The moment he lifted his right leg, he decided to change his shooting method.
He couldn't let the opponent get the better of him!
So, Ibrahimović flicked his ankle, changing from an instep shot to an inside-of-the-foot push shot!
He truly lived up to his reputation; even with a last-minute change of plan, the ball was still powerfully pushed towards the bottom right corner of the goal!
This was even a theoretically impossible angle!
"Oh…"
In the stands, Manchester United fans were almost jumping up to celebrate the goal.
But half a second later, that sound abruptly stopped, and the fans slumped back into their seats.
That was because Pickford, Sunderland's young Goalkeeper, completely ignored any changes in Ibrahimović's footwork.
The moment the ball left the penalty spot, he immediately dove towards the bottom right corner of the goal.
And then, he truly saved Ibrahimović's penalty with ease, even firmly holding the ball in his hands!
This penalty did not go in!