The path to becoming a football legend began with being ousted from Carrington by Manchester United.

Just four minutes after Puyol scored, Manchester City made a substitution.

Having received instructions from Pellegrini, assistant coach Cucilas, who was temporarily in charge of the match, substituted Mario Balotelli for Nigel de Jong.

By taking off a defensive midfielder and bringing on a striker, it's clear that Manchester City, playing with one less player, is determined to fight tooth and nail.

At this stage of the game, it's no longer realistic to keep focusing on counter-attacks. If they continue to wait, Manchester City will likely be slowly worn down by Barcelona's unstoppable passing and possession game.

The biggest effect of Manchester City's substitutions this time was not on the tactical level, but on helping the players to unify their thinking. In this respect, Pellegrini and Guardiola's substitutions are similar in their effectiveness.

Balotelli's introduction made Manchester City players realize that the main theme of the upcoming games should be counter-attacks, and they could no longer retreat into a defensive posture and wait for opportunities to launch counter-attacks as before.

Before Barcelona could adapt to Manchester City's transformation, the Citizens immediately launched a threatening attack.

David Silva, who hadn't had many opportunities to perform in the previous match, dropped back to receive the ball in front of the penalty area. This time, instead of passing as he had done before, he suddenly changed his rhythm and beat his national team teammate Iniesta.

After successfully drawing Busquets' defensive attention, he delivered a very subtle through pass, successfully connecting with Lin Yi, who was roaming in the attacking third.

Before Silva passed the ball, Lin Yi had just moved from the wing to the center. He received the ball in a vacuum in Barcelona's defense, which allowed him to turn around and face the direction of the attack with ease.

The player who came up to defend him for Barcelona was Puyol, who had just scored a goal.

Lin Yibing didn't think the 34-year-old veteran could gain the upper hand in a speed contest with him, so he poked with his left foot and his body sprang out. He had done this move countless times, and usually this move could leave the defender a body length behind.

To Lin Yi's surprise, Puyol's right foot had already blocked his path, forcing Lin Yi to stop abruptly and pull the ball back.

Lin Yi immediately changed direction, using his right foot to pull the ball inward, intending to cut it past from another direction.

However, Puyol did not extend his foot or even turn around. The experienced Barcelona captain knew that doing so would fall into Lin Yi's trap. He immediately turned his shoulder to the side and pressed his whole body against Lin Yi.

This negligible physical contact was not enough to make Lin Yi lose possession of the ball, but in order to maintain control of the ball, Lin Yi had to use the outside of his foot to flick the ball outwards and turn around on the spot.

Puyol completely devoured Lin Yi's space and opportunities for a sprint. Lin Yi continued to dribble forward, but under Puyol's constant pressure, squeezing, and interference, Lin Yi had to slow down and change lanes to get rid of his harassment.

At this point, the other Barcelona players gradually returned to their defensive positions, and Lin Yi had no time to continue entangled with them. He was forced to pass the ball to Balotelli, who was standing to the side.

Puyol did not give up marking Lin Yi. When Lin Yi was off the ball, Puyol subtly pulled on Lin Yi's jersey to keep him under his control.

This is Barcelona's home ground, after all, so the referee simply ignored these petty tricks.

Seeing that Lin Yi was unable to shake off Puyol's close marking, Balotelli could only make a slight adjustment before taking a shot himself.

Having just come on as a substitute, Balotelli, whose body hadn't warmed up yet, couldn't find his rhythm, and his shots failed to create any threat.

Valdes easily caught Balotelli's shot and immediately launched a quick counter-attack with a throw-in, targeting Busquets, who is known as a "ball-illiterate filter".

Fortunately, Lin Yi's exceptional speed allowed him to disrupt Busquets's receiving of the ball in time, successfully delaying Barcelona's transition from defense to attack and forcing them into positional play.

After a series of dazzling short passes around the Manchester City penalty area, Barcelona, ​​unable to find a good opportunity, had Messi cross the ball, and Fabregas headed it at the far post, but this also failed to threaten Joe Hart.

Joe Hart also launched an attack using throws, and after a few simple passes, Manchester City once again found themselves in a one-on-one situation between Lin Yi and Puyol.

Lin Yi continued to try to break through, but still couldn't handle the experienced Puyol, though this time was different.

This time, Puyol was outmaneuvered by Lin Yi, and he decisively reached out and pulled Lin Yi to the ground.

Manchester City's counter-attack failed, and they ended up with only a free kick far from the goal.

From this game, Lin Yi knew that he would eventually win the match against Puyol.

In terms of anticipation, positioning, close-quarters combat, and subtle maneuvers, Puyol may not be inferior to his prime age, but age is an inescapable disadvantage.

During such a high-intensity match, Lin Yi could clearly feel that Puyol's physical strength was declining rapidly, even though he only came on as a substitute in the second half.

When the game reached the 70-minute mark, Lin Yi's conjecture was once again confirmed.

When he dribbled past Puyol for the third time, Puyol could no longer keep up with Lin Yi's pace. Even though he continued to rely on his rich defensive experience and accurate anticipation to successfully delay Lin Yi and wait for his teammates to come to the rescue, he eventually made a successful defensive play.

But Lin Yi was certain that the opponent's situation was getting worse with each match, and the question now was whether Lin Yi could completely wear down Puyol before the end of the game.

Pique noticed the problem and tried to come up to help Puyol defend, but Lin Yi's clumsy pass almost gave Balotelli a one-on-one opportunity, which scared Pique into staying in his position.

In the following matches, Lin Yi would try to challenge Puyol whenever he had the chance.

As the match drew to a close, the once-fierce Barcelona warrior finally bent his back, panting heavily.

In the previous defensive play, Puyol made a very difficult and risky sliding tackle, barely managing to push the ball out of bounds from Lin Yi's feet.

Puyol was unsure if he could successfully contain Lin Yi again. He looked up at the scoreboard; the game had reached 88 minutes.

"Hold on! Just a little longer! Don't give up!" Puyol told himself. "Come on! Warrior! Never give up!"

Then he straightened his back again, clapped his hands vigorously, and loudly reminded his teammates, "Cheer up! The game is almost over! Hang in there!"

David Silva took a corner kick, aiming for Balotelli's head, but Pique, who was marking him, successfully limited Balotelli's jump, preventing him from winning the header.

The soccer ball continued its flight, reaching Lin Yi's airspace. Lin Yi, who was not good at aerial maneuvers, gritted his teeth and jumped to contest for the header.

In Puyol's opinion, it was unbelievable that Lin Yi had such a strong sprinting speed but such a terrible jumping ability.

His movements looked so ridiculous; he didn't jump high enough, didn't hang in the air, had average speed, and his timing for taking off was also poor.

Although Lin Yi was 10cm taller than him, he was incredibly easy to deal with.

Puyol timed his jump perfectly and leaped into the air, ready to teach this little guy who was always eyeing his breakthrough a lesson.

However, when the veteran's feet left the ground, he suddenly realized that he must have looked ridiculous to others.

His leaden legs hampered Puyol's jump height, hang time, and speed, resulting in him taking off too late.

If he were 5 years younger, no, even 3 years younger, Puyol would have easily outjumped Lin Yi to clear the ball with a header.

Now, the 10cm height difference between the two is like an insurmountable chasm that Puyol cannot overcome.

The Barcelona captain could only watch helplessly as Lin Yi jumped up like a weak woman, awkwardly headed the ball, and then broke through Barcelona's goal.

Puyolbilin landed first, but he lost his balance and stumbled and fell in front of his own door. He lay on the ground, panting heavily, and the light in his eyes gradually faded and became dim.

He gave a wry smile and muttered to himself, "I still couldn't hold on until the end. Carles, you're really getting old."