In the second half, both teams switched sides and resumed play.
Zhao Zhao remained relaxed in the dugout, chatting with others, while Karanka stood on the sidelines, his face gloomy and silent.
He had obviously adjusted his tactics as well.
Although he still primarily relied on long balls and crosses, he made some changes to his attacking players.
It was no longer a fixed pattern of two central forwards + two central midfielders; instead, players rotated into the penalty area, and this even included the two central defenders.
In the first half, Sunderland's defense against Middlesbrough's aerial bombardment was very successful, largely because Middlesbrough's attack was too rigid; the opponent only needed to mark fixed personnel to defend.
After Karanka's adjustments, it became harder to mark them tightly.
Furthermore, according to Karanka's plan, Sunderland, leading by two goals, would surely strengthen their defense even more in the second half, perhaps even parking the bus.
Therefore, he could push his players forward with more confidence and boldness, rather than being hesitant.
But clearly, he had completely misjudged Coach Zhao's strategy!
After the opening whistle, Karanka was surprised to find that Sunderland's formation was pushed even further up the field than in the first half.
The three midfielders firmly controlled the ball and the rhythm of the game.
And the runs of the three forwards became even more elusive and unpredictable!
In the 48th minute, just three minutes into the second half.
Larsson intercepted the ball and passed it directly to Januzaj, who had dropped back to receive it on the right wing.
After Januzaj received the ball and turned, he noticed a large unoccupied area in midfield.
After all, Middlesbrough had many players committed to attack in the midfield and final third, and the number of players a team has in a match is fixed; if you have more players attacking, naturally fewer will be defending.
So, Januzaj easily carried the ball forward for over ten meters before Chambers came over to defend him.
"This time, Januzaj faces Chambers again, will he choose to break through once more?"
"Oh, he didn't. He had already seen Borini making a run on the other side, so he directly played a diagonal pass to him. Sunderland's tactics in the second half seem to have changed a bit."
"At this moment, Defoe in the center also moved towards Borini, providing support to his teammate."
"However, at this point, Defoe is on the left and Borini is on the right. Both of them have Middlesbrough defenders closely marking them, and they are both a bit far from the penalty area. It seems difficult to shoot directly, doesn't it?"
"Oh, they made a crossing run! This seems to be one of the changes Coach Zhao made in the second half, which is that the forwards' runs have become more flexible!"
On the field.
Sunderland's two forwards did not simply run into the penalty area; instead, Defoe went right and Borini went left, crossing positions like two sharp knives diagonally piercing the opponent's flank!
Middlesbrough's two central defenders, Bernardo and Gibson, were a bit slow to react.
Originally, Bernardo, who was closer to Defoe, was marking him, while Gibson was marking Borini.
But with this switch, their minds suddenly short-circuited.
Should they follow the man-marking principle and continue to follow the player they were defending before, or should they follow the zonal marking principle and switch players within their own positions?
In this era, most teams use a combination of both defensive methods, which can adapt to most situations.
But when Sunderland's two forwards suddenly switched positions in a flash, it made it difficult for the opposing two defenders to unify their thoughts for a moment.
After a slight hesitation, they decided to stick to their original targets, ensuring no confusion!
But even that brief moment of hesitation was already too late.
Borini kicked a low, curling shot before the opposing defender could get close to mark him.
The ball zipped through the gap between Middlesbrough's two defenders, rolling rapidly towards the far post of the penalty area.
And behind it, the player coming in to follow up was none other than Januzaj!
It turned out that Defoe and Borini's crossing run on the flank was just a feint; the real killer move was coming from behind!
Although the pass wasn't particularly accurate, the ball continued towards the byline after crossing the opponent's six-yard box;
But Januzaj's sprint speed was very fast; he came sliding in low to the ground and used a sliding shot to kick the ball towards the near post of the goal!
Middlesbrough goalkeeper Valdés first didn't expect anyone to be behind, and even more surprisingly, Januzaj actually made contact!
When he reacted, he could only instinctively spread his arms, but by then the ball had already passed his palms, flying past the goalpost into the dead corner of the goal!
"Less than 3 minutes into the second half, Sunderland scores again!"
"This time, the goal scorer is the Belgian forward Januzaj! This is also his first goal for Sunderland!"
"Sunderland 3:0 Middlesbrough!"
The Stadium of Light erupted, and Januzaj rushed to the South Stand, where the hardcore fans gathered, excitedly waving his fists at the stands, celebrating the goal.
He was also releasing the frustration that had accumulated in his heart for a long time!
Januzaj, who became famous at a young age, joined the Manchester United first team at 18 and made 27 appearances, scoring four goals in that season.
He was also hailed as "Belgium's Beckham" and later naturally selected for the Belgian national team.
However, his career can only be described as starting strong and fading. After Louis van Gaal took charge of Manchester United, he didn't get to play much. Last season, he was loaned to Borussia Dortmund but was not heavily relied upon, making only 6 appearances throughout the season with no goals.
This season, Januzaj was again loaned to Sunderland. Although he could play as a starter, the team repeatedly lost, and he had not yet opened his goal-scoring account.
Although he is not a central forward, he often plays as an attacking midfielder and winger, so not scoring a goal is truly inexcusable.
Now, he finally scored!
Then, Januzaj looked at Coach Zhao, who gave him a big thumbs-up in encouragement.
Januzaj was, of course, very grateful to Coach Zhao.
It was this young coach, not much older than himself, who, with his passion and tactics, revitalized him, allowing him to play freely in the final third!
In that instant, Januzaj even considered a question.
That is, should he continue to stay at Manchester United warming the bench or being loaned out everywhere?
If he could continue to play under Coach Zhao next season, perhaps his career could have better development…
Coach Zhao, of course, didn't know what Januzaj was thinking.
After giving the thumbs-up, he also applauded the other players on the field, then called on his comrades to redouble their efforts:
"Keep going, don't stop!"
The young lads also nodded in agreement.
Putting everything else aside, just the completely different tactics in the first and second halves today, which Coach Zhao made so intricate, were enough to earn everyone's sincere admiration for Coach Zhao!
And Karanka, witnessing this scene from the side, truly looked worse than if he had been beaten up.
"Damn it, they're three goals up and still going at it like this?"
But Karanka was well aware of why this was happening.
Wasn't it because of his terrible attitude towards Coach Zhao at the start of the match?
Seeing this, James Jun also joked:
"Xie Baoqing, Xie Baoqing, of all people, why did you have to provoke that Li Yunlong?"