Thursday was also the match day.
In the morning, Zhao Zhao was to take his "starters" to London for the match.
The reason "starters" was in quotation marks was, of course, because all 18 players registered for this match were originally substitutes.
In fact, only 11 of them were truly first-team players, while the other 7 had just been promoted from the youth team.
However, before departing, Zhao Zhao still gathered the 12 main players who were staying behind and gave them a speech:
"We're about to leave for the match, and you all need to stay at the training base and train well."
"I've already had Mr. Breswell tell you about Swansea's tactical approach, and that's what your training focus will be these past few days."
"Remember, yesterday's rest was only to relax and recover from physical fatigue; don't really let yourselves go. You need to be energized today!"
"Three days from now is when you truly show yourselves! If your condition doesn't meet the match requirements by then, don't blame me for keeping you at home!"
The players all nodded in agreement.
Initially, when they learned they hadn't made the squad for the Chelsea match, everyone was very surprised.
Some players even thought they were being punished for poor performance in recent training and matches.
But after explanations from Zhao Zhao and Breswell, they slowly understood.
This was about putting all their effort into direct rivals for relegation!
Although some players felt their physical condition was still fine and they could continue fighting, they considered that Zhao Zhao's handling of the situation definitely had its reasons, and so they accepted it.
Plus, having a day off made everyone happy, and returning to the team now, they were full of fighting spirit.
Only Captain O'Shea still had a question: "Coach, are we really not even going to the stadium? Just sending so many kids, won't that seem disrespectful to the opponent...?"
Zhao Zhao waved his hand: "Chelsea is almost guaranteed to win the title early; we're practically giving them three points. They'll be too happy for anything else, what more could they want?"
"Besides, I'm sending these kids to play, not to go easy. They're still going to play seriously, so where's the disrespect?"
"We must consider ourselves first. If we get relegated, that would be the greatest disrespect to the Sunderland People!"
"As for you all, it's a five-hour drive from here to London. Aren't you tired? Instead of that, you could be practicing more tactics. There's no point in going there just to watch the match."
"Alright, dismissed. Everyone keep working hard! Don't train well, or I'll kick your butts hard with my boot!"
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For the players who were able to start today, including the youth team players who were able to join the first team as substitutes, their hearts were naturally a mix of nervousness and excitement.
Nervousness was a given.
After all, the opponent was Chelsea, a Premier League giant, the team that had been ranked first all season!
Facing such a team away from home, it could be said that no player could remain composed.
But excitement was also inevitable.
Many youth team players had never had the chance to play for the first team. Now they were selected, and even going directly to Stamford Bridge—this happiness came too suddenly!
Although this match was extremely challenging, the players were still eager to play.
They also wanted to use this rare opportunity to show their strength and let the Coach see that they were capable of establishing themselves in the first team!
However, ideals are beautiful, but reality is harsh.
When Chelsea's starting lineup was laid out before Sunderland's young players, it was simply an overwhelming force.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defenders: Terry, David Luiz, Azpilicueta.
Midfielders: Marcos Alonso, Kante, Fabregas, Moses.
Forwards: Hazard, Diego Costa, Willian.
Chelsea's Coach Conte had clearly strengthened the lineup's attacking power, replacing Matic with Fabregas in midfield, and Pedro with Willian upfront.
As for starting Terry in the defense today, it was actually a tribute to the veteran Captain.
This season would be Terry's last at Stamford Bridge after 21 years with Chelsea; he would join Aston Villa as a free agent in the summer.
So, for the fans at Stamford Bridge, Terry's matches were becoming fewer and further between.
Today, facing the weaker Sunderland, the goal was for Terry to lead the team to a full three points!
The match indeed entered Chelsea's rhythm from the very beginning.
In the 8th minute, Hazard earned a free-kick in an excellent position in the attacking third for Chelsea. Marcos Alonso's direct curling shot flew into the corner, hitting the post and bouncing out.
Chelsea then seized the second-ball opportunity to organize an immediate attack. The ball eventually reached the far post inside the box, where Willian unleashed a powerful shot that went under Sunderland goalkeeper Mika's armpit and into the net, 1-0!
In the 15th minute, Diego Costa passed the ball to Hazard on the left. The latter burst into the box, took a touch with his right foot to create shooting space, and then fired a powerful shot with his left foot from a tight angle into the far corner of the net, 2-0!
In the 30th minute, Fabregas's long pass led to a mistake in the Sunderland defense. Djilobodji's header back towards his own goal while tracking back was met by Willian, who headed it into the empty net, 3-0!
It could be said that the match had no suspense left after just half an hour.
During halftime, Zhao Zhao did not blame the players; instead, he loudly encouraged them, hoping they would play with spirit.
And around the 60th minute of the match, he also made three consecutive substitutions, bringing on youth team players, so that half of Sunderland's players on the field were from the youth team!
Sunderland's morale did not wane, but the difference in strength was simply too great.
In the 71st minute, Chelsea substitute Pedro intercepted the ball in the attacking third, broke through on the right, and threaded a pass behind the defense into the box. Batshuayi, also a substitute, followed up with a sliding shot to score, 4-0!
In stoppage time, Batshuayi found another excellent opportunity in the attacking third, cutting in from the right and scoring a second goal with a curling shot, making it 5-0!
This score was the final one, with Chelsea defeating Sunderland 5-0 at home.
It could be said that such a score was within Zhao Zhao's expectations, and he would not feel any frustration because of it.
In fact, one could even say that losing by only five goals with his youth team against the Premier League's top team, Chelsea, made Zhao Zhao somewhat happy.
However, there was a small incident after the match.
After the final whistle, Zhao Zhao walked towards the home team's technical area, intending to give a routine handshake to the opposing Coach Conte before heading to the locker room.
He still needed to quickly go and give everyone some more motivational talk, as not everyone would be as unfazed as him by losing by five goals.
But what he didn't expect was that Conte firmly held Zhao Zhao's hand, not letting go, while pointing to his own eyes with his other hand:
"Look me in the eye when we shake hands, understand, kid! It's about respect, respect!"