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

The vast majority of fans expressed understanding and support for Manchester City's elimination, given that it is a team that has only recently risen to prominence.

Most of the team's core players haven't played together for very long, and the main attacking duo, Lin Yi and Aguero, only joined this season.

Reaching the Champions League semi-finals is a perfectly acceptable result. Can't those who criticize Manchester City see that their city rivals, Manchester United, couldn't even get out of the group stage?

Manchester United, relegated to playing in the Europa League, didn't even make it to the quarterfinals, being sent home by Athletic Bilbao in the round of 16.

Lin Yi, who is only 18 years old, has scored 15 goals in this Champions League and is currently ranked first in the top scorer list.

If Mario Gomez fails to score a hat-trick in the final, Lin Yi will win the Champions League Golden Boot this season and become the youngest top scorer in Champions League history.

Given their achievements, fans believe that neither the young Manchester City team nor the young Lin Yi should be overly criticized.

Give them more time, and one day Lin will bring Manchester City to try and touch the St. Bride's Cup.

Moreover, Manchester City still has the league title and FA Cup title to pursue. For die-hard Manchester City fans, the Champions League trophy probably doesn't hold the same significance as the league title in their hearts.

This is a championship that has been awaited for 44 years. Many elderly fans even consider witnessing the team win the league title again as their last wish in this life.

Even the neutral fans who vehemently criticized Manchester City during the second leg of the match against Bayern Munich, while their hopes of seeing the two English teams meet in the final were dashed, had to admit after calming down that Manchester City had played well this season and did not turn against them.

When Manchester City returned to Manchester, fans spontaneously organized a welcoming ceremony at the airport to express their understanding and support for the team's elimination.

This harmonious atmosphere does not meet the media's needs and is insufficient to boost newspaper sales and television ratings.

So the day after the match ended, the media, with the help of smugglers lurking in the shadows, began to exert their influence.

Jamie Jackson, the Guardian journalist who once co-hosted a show with former Manchester United youth academy director Paul McGuinness to criticize Lin Yi, only to be proven wrong, has been having a rough time lately.

Since the last incident, his show's ratings have plummeted and were eventually canceled.

As a staunch supporter of Manchester United, he had been waiting far too long for the day Manchester City would lose.

However, Manchester City has been on a winning streak across all three competitions this season. Although they had a brief slump in the league for two games, Manchester United performed even worse during the same period, preventing Jackson from making any impact.

Now he has finally found his chance to make a comeback. He was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. With dark circles under his eyes, Jackson typed out an article that he poured all his emotions and hopes into.

He knew that reaching the semi-finals was not something to talk about, as it would easily lead Manchester City supporters to bring up Manchester United's disastrous performance in European competitions this season. In comparison, it would be Manchester United, not Manchester City, who should be criticized.

So the clever Jackson changed his perspective, pretending to be neutral as he analyzed Manchester City's situation this season.

The word "pretend" might not be entirely accurate, as Jackson's article title actually reveals his stance.

This article is titled "From Cup Dreams Shattered to No Trophy? Manchester City Is Following in Bayer Leverkusen's Footsteps!"

Jackson reminded everyone that Manchester City's elimination from the Champions League is a foregone conclusion, and everyone should look forward.

Manchester City, returning from Munich, will face Manchester United in the Manchester derby in three days.

Currently, Manchester United and Manchester City are tied on points in the standings, having played one more game.

Facing a Manchester City side that has been playing continuously and is exhausted from travel, Manchester United could very well take advantage of Manchester City's recent elimination and their somewhat low morale to snatch three points from the Etihad Stadium.

This brings both sides back to the same starting line. With only two rounds left in the league, Manchester City, which has suffered consecutive setbacks, is likely to collapse and hand over the championship.

After all, the players in Manchester City's squad are generally young, and they obviously can't match the shrewdness of the experienced Manchester United.

Although veteran manager Pellegrini has extensive coaching experience, he has no prior experience leading a team to compete for a title. The Chilean, who has only been in charge of Manchester City for half a season, may not be able to control the team in the final stages.

In addition, there are only two weeks left until the FA Cup final, where Manchester City's opponent is Chelsea, who have successfully reached the Champions League final.

Chelsea and their interim manager Di Matteo have fully demonstrated their strength by eliminating Real Madrid.

Manchester City, in a state of collapse, will very likely lose the final against Chelsea.

In other words, including their early exit from the League Cup, Manchester City may end up empty-handed after a busy season.

Despite Manchester City's previous string of victories on three fronts, this loss to Bayern Munich could very well be the trigger that causes their seemingly perfect situation to collapse overnight.

The article uses Bayer Leverkusen in the 2001-02 season as an example, showing that their dream of becoming a "treble winner" turned into a tragic "three runners-up" overnight.

This article immediately sparked huge controversy upon publication.

Manchester City supporters vehemently criticized Jackson, while Manchester United fans found his analysis very insightful.

With deliberate hype from the media, more and more people are joining the debate.

Manchester United's stance is self-evident. A group of legends, led by the Class of '92, have tried every means to put pressure on Manchester City and have clearly supported Manchester United's comeback to win the title.

Although Manchester City has few supporters, it cannot compare to the deep-rooted Manchester United.

However, adhering to the principle that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," many of Manchester United's rivals have spoken out in support of Manchester City.

For example, Liverpool legends like Ian Rush, Kevin Keegan, and Robbie Fowler all predicted that Manchester City would beat Manchester United at home and clinch the title two rounds early.

It's worth noting that Manchester United just won their 19th top-flight league title last season, surpassing Liverpool to become the team with the most Premier League titles. Liverpool fans certainly don't want to see their arch-rivals Manchester United continue to extend their lead.

In an interview, current captain Gerrard also said that Lin Yi's age should not be underestimated. He had played against Lin Yi before, and although Lin Yi seemed carefree, he actually had a heart that pursued victory.

In addition, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger also supports Manchester City, believing that they can quickly recover from their defeat and win the Manchester derby.

The opinions and stances of these people are largely expected by the public, and no one is surprised by which side they support.

What truly caught people's attention were the statements made by another group of people.

In an interview with Tuttosport, Zlatan Ibrahimovic suddenly changed the subject and talked about the upcoming Manchester derby.

"The only one who can beat Lingard is the all-powerful Geraldson. I don't think anyone in Manchester United can compare to him. Rooney? He's no match!"

Arjen Robben, who is on his way to winning the Champions League, expressed a similar view.

To date, no one except the great Arjen Robben has ever beaten Lin Yi, and he is optimistic that Manchester City will withstand the pressure and win the league title.

The list of participants was unexpected, and not all of them supported Manchester City and Lin Yi.

The most surprising decision came from Arsenal's current captain, Robin van Persie, who firmly supported Manchester United, even after manager Arsène Wenger had already expressed his preference for Manchester City.

Van Persie said to the camera: "Manchester United is a great team, a team with championship mentality, and I think they can prove me right by beating Manchester City at the Etihad."

Arsenal fans consoled themselves with this thought regarding their captain's public support for Manchester United.

"It must be because Lin stole Robin's top scorer spot, that must be it!"