On Sunday afternoon, Cambridge United arrived at West Ham United's home ground, the London Olympic Stadium.
Huang Hao specifically observed the fans in the stands as he walked into the stadium.
Most West Ham United fans still appeared somewhat anxious and worried.
Originally, as the first half of the League season neared its end, West Ham United's position in the League table was comfortable; they were safe from relegation and had a potential chance to compete for a European spot.
However, ever since their dominant home victory over Portsmouth in the 19th round, they have entered a disastrous period of nearly six matches, securing only one win and three draws, totaling just 6 points. Now, Southampton is also set to host Swansea, and the outlook is not optimistic.
If they lose this match again, the gap to the relegation zone might shrink to within two matches.
However, the team led by Zola made the fans feel very awkward.
The team under the Italian had the unique chain defense characteristic of Italians; their defense was already excellent, and there wouldn't be significant ups and downs in matches, but the corresponding result was the team's silence in attack.
When Zola walked out of the player tunnel, he saw Huang Hao. He proactively walked over to shake Huang Hao's hand. Regardless, they had just faced each other at Park Stadium a little over a month ago, so they could be considered to have become acquainted through conflict.
Their situations were still worlds apart, but Zola never regretted it. After he shook Huang Hao's hand, Huang Hao smiled at him and said, "Are you very unwilling to lose to Tottenham? I was cheering for you in front of the TV."
Zola showed a bitter smile and joked, "Tottenham used all their might to beat us. Otherwise, how could you beat them 5-2?"
Huang Hao smiled and shook his head, saying, "Manchester United is not Chelsea's opponent this season. Chelsea's only opponent is themselves. I wanted you to defeat Chelsea just to make that high and mighty, arrogant Blues team and Carlo Ancelotti stumble. Seeing them lose makes many people feel very happy."
Zola sighed, "It's a pity we still didn't win the match in the end. You're right, I'm very unwilling. The current Chelsea is terrifyingly strong."
At this point, a hint of reminiscence appeared in Zola's eyes.
In fact, his unwillingness was not just the pure competitive antagonism he felt when facing Cambridge United, but also mixed with past grievances.
Speaking of which, Zola transferred to Chelsea back then and achieved great success there. Chelsea also grew from a mediocre Premier League team into a strong team with a certain ability to contend for the title. During his time at Chelsea, Zola helped the team win multiple cup championships, including the FA Cup, League Cup, and European Cup Winners' Cup, and was voted the greatest player in the club's history by fans.
Unfortunately, the arrival of Abramovich did not allow Zola to retire gloriously at Chelsea; he was shown the door by Chelsea due to his advanced age, which remained a thorn in Zola's heart.
When the starting players of both teams came out, Huang Hao surprisingly scrutinized West Ham United's starting lineup.
He muttered to himself, "Some people are truly incomprehensible."
Zola had faced Huang Hao very courageously at Park Stadium, but at home, he fielded a more conservative lineup.
The starting players were mainly defensive midfielders, suggesting they intended to play defensive counter-attacking at home or simply compete physically with Cambridge United.
"Welcome to West Ham United's London Olympic Stadium. The Premier League's 25th round of League matches already kicked off yesterday. Today, Cambridge United visits to challenge West Ham United. The struggling West Ham United is likely to face a tough challenge at home. Although Cambridge United has been affected by injuries, they are still in hot form and full of momentum!
Let's look at Zola's starting lineup for today; he has set up a 4-4-2 formation.
Goalkeeper: Green.
Defenders: Upson, Tomkins, Ilunga, Neil.
Midfielders: Parker, Noble, Kovacic, Dyer.
Forwards: Cole, Di Michele.
Tristan, whose form has declined this season, has been placed on the bench.
Cambridge United's starting lineup is a 3-5-2.
Goalkeeper: Oblak.
Defenders: De Vrij, Van Dijk, Kompany, Vida.
Midfielders: M'Vila, O'Connor, Grenier, Juninho, Mahrez.
Forwards: Lewandowski, Vardy.
Alright, the match is about to begin. Let's see if West Ham United can stop Cambridge United's advance!"
Huang Hao still focused on player rotation. Today, he rested Tadić and Kante, while Golonas, Ayu, and Gotze sat on the bench, ready to come on as substitutes at any time.
Although West Ham United's performance in the past few matches has been poor, the Hammers fans were still very enthusiastic in cheering for their team. However, the Hammers players on the field were overly cautious and did not ignite the passion of the match.
Perhaps Zola, at this point, had no choice but to consider the reality.
Counting this match, there were only 14 League rounds left. If the Hammers continued to pursue ideals and play freely without regard for the outcome, it was likely that the last two months of the League would be filled with anxiety.
Now was the time to consider survival.
Therefore, West Ham did not show enough aggression at home, but they were not absolutely conservative either; one could only say they were playing by the book. Cambridge United also played steadily away from home, not being overly adventurous.
New signing Juninho first became the bright spot in Cambridge United's attacking play.
In the 8th minute of the match, he brilliantly broke past Noble on the right wing with his individual skill. After reaching the fullback Ilunga, Juninho immediately exchanged a one-two pass with Grenier. Ilunga then turned to chase Juninho, who had surged past him, but seemed somewhat powerless. Juninho quickly touched the ball before the byline and sent in a cross.
The ball dropped into the center of the box, and Lewandowski jumped between two defenders for a header, but it went wide. Cambridge United's momentum was clearly established.
Four minutes later, West Ham United also launched a good attack down the wing. Dyer exchanged a one-two short pass with Neil, who came to receive the ball. He then crossed from the wing. Cole in the box seemed to be in position, but Van Dijk rushed over, pushed him aside, and headed the ball clear first.
Today, with M'Vila sweeping in front of Cambridge United's box, the defenders mostly only needed to defend directly to ensure the box's safety.
In the 17th minute of the match, Parker received a pass from Kovacic 30 yards outside the box and shot from long range without taking a touch.
This shot surprised everyone, and Oblak reacted slowly. Fortunately, the ball went wide of the post, a false alarm.
Parker, who performed well in the previous match, was still very active today, but his wide range of activity meant he was somewhat flustered by M'Vila's harassment in front of the box.
As long as M'Vila stuck to him, he could never shake him off.
In the 23rd minute of the match, Cambridge United attacked down the left wing. De Vrij came forward from the wing to assist. He wasn't particularly fast, but in front of Noble, he feigned a pass to O'Connor in the center. His body direction and footwork deceived Noble, who tended to stick out a leg to intercept in the middle. As a result, De Vrij restarted and broke through on the outside of the wing, instantly leaving Noble behind.
De Vrij, who had surged to the attacking wing, looked at Mahrez's movement and then at fullback Neil's defensive positioning. Neil still went with Mahrez because Mahrez was cutting inside.
De Vrij then didn't care about anything else, running along the touchline all the way to the edge of the box. After a slight adjustment, he sent in a cross.
Mahrez at the near post and Lewandowski in the center together attracted the attention of West Ham United's defensive players, which left Grenier's run and cut-in at the far post unmarked.
Mahrez's cross was floated towards the back post of the box.
Seeing Grenier rush up at the far post and head the falling ball towards goal, a great opportunity was squandered by him.
Heading was not his forte, and this shot was even wildly off target, like a shot into the stands!
Grenier rubbed his short hair and made an apologetic gesture to his teammates.
Perhaps if he had shot with his foot, even performing a difficult technical move, the effect might have been better than using his head.
West Ham United's attack began to become simple and direct.
In the 29th minute of the match, Kovacic launched a long pass directly from the backfield. Cole headed the ball down in front of the box to Di Michele. This combination actually worked!
However, to evade M'Vila in front of him, Di Michele knocked the ball to his left front and then shot with his non-dominant left foot, failing to generate much power.
The ball slowly rolled towards Cambridge United's goal, and Oblak bent down to easily gather the ball into his arms.
Cambridge United's players continued to patiently build their offense.
In the 33rd minute of the match, Juninho received the ball from O'Connor on the right wing in the attacking third. When he controlled the ball, he deliberately turned with it to shake off Parker's harassment behind him. After turning, he continued to push forward with the attack. At this point, only West Ham United's defensive line was in front of him.
Center-back Tomkins was forced to rush up to challenge him. Before he could stick out his leg to steal the ball, Juninho poked the ball with the tip of his foot to Lewandowski in the box.
Upson and Lewandowski became entangled. The two strong players refused to give way. Lewandowski dared not control the ball and turn, fearing it would be dispossessed. He leaned his back against Upson and then short-passed the ball to his left.
A figure was seen rushing past at high speed, taking the ball past West Ham United's defensive line.
Vardy!
Having a mediocre performance in the previous match with the aim of recovering and adapting to the game, he was in good form today. After taking this touch, he was through on goal. Facing the advancing goalkeeper Green, he shot the ball with his right foot at a tight angle towards the far corner of the goal.
The ball rolled past the outside of Green's body. Green didn't have time to make a save and turned his head to see the ball roll into the net, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Vardy scores! He gives Cambridge United the lead!
Lewandowski's layoff in the box was very comfortable, and Vardy's cut-in run created a one-on-one chance. Cambridge United's combination was simple yet deadly, and Juninho's earlier display of turning with the ball and then accelerating with a dribble was simply seamless.
This is a difference in strength. West Ham United still has significant shortcomings in handling details. Playing against a team like Cambridge United, even a slight mistake can lead to disaster.
West Ham United is trailing Cambridge United 0-1 at home!"
Zola rubbed his face on the sideline, seemingly quite helpless with his team's performance.
Huang Hao, on the other hand, smiled on the sideline and applauded Vardy's goal.
The match restarted, and West Ham United intensified their defense, especially with both forwards actively participating in midfield pressing, which improved West Ham United's defensive quality to some extent.
However, Cambridge United has recently favored attacking down the wings, which still made it difficult for their opponents to cope.
In the 39th minute of the match, Vida passed to Grenier from the back on the wing. Grenier's wide cross from the right-central area of the midfield made Huang Hao applaud. The ball traversed the midfield and rolled to the left wing, where O'Connor dropped back and poked the ball to Mahrez behind him before Noble could reach it.
Mahrez's subsequent choice was somewhat unreasonable.
He took a big stride to kick the ball directly forward as he met it, then burst with acceleration past Noble, rapidly advancing the attack with lightning speed.
O'Connor, meanwhile, ran directly into a central position. Mahrez dribbled the ball along the wing all the way to the edge of the box before decisively crossing it into the center.
Juninho rushed up, took a touch to adjust, and then unleashed a powerful shot! This high-quality long-range shot seemed very likely to score, but West Ham United goalkeeper Green made an astonishing save, leaping and tipping the ball over the crossbar with a single hand.
"Green! Green has made a world-class save! Juninho must feel very disappointed. Perhaps he had even thought about his celebration, but the ball was ultimately denied by Green!"
Cambridge United's corner kick attack failed to create a threat, with Van Dijk heading the ball wide at the near post.
Before halftime, West Ham United attacked down the left wing in the attacking third. Dyer was fouled by Vida while attempting to break past him. Referee De Urso awarded a foul against Vida and showed him a yellow card.
Noble stepped up to take the free-kick, and the cross into the box was headed towards Cambridge United's goal by defender Upson, but the header was too central, and goalkeeper Oblak, without moving from his position, easily gathered the ball into his arms.
After Oblak took the goal kick, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half.
Cambridge United returned to the dressing room with a one-goal lead.
Zola's face was grim, and he felt uncertain, perhaps due to the recent poor results that had left him overwhelmed.
