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

Out of caution, Mancini excluded Lin Yi from the squad for the League Cup match against Birmingham.

Lin Yi had no choice but to bring Emma along to watch the game and cheer on Aguero, Yaya Touré, and others who were also on rest.

Substitute strikers Dzeko and Balotelli seized their rare opportunity to score a goal each, helping the team advance smoothly with a 2-0 victory.

With rotation in two consecutive matches, Manchester City's key players have basically recovered to their best physical condition, including Lin Yi, who had previously suffered from cramps. This allows them to fully focus on the sixth round of the league match against Everton.

David Moyes, a representative of the middle generation of Premier League coaches, has been managing Everton for ten years.

He transformed a financially strapped team that had been struggling to avoid relegation into a consistently strong contender in the upper half of the league.

Last season, Everton finished 7th in the league. Although their ranking wasn't very high, they beat the champions Chelsea 2-0 and drew 3-3 with last season's champions Manchester United.

More importantly, Manchester City lost both of their previous encounters with Everton last season by a score of 1-2, suffering a season double defeat to their opponents.

This Everton team has a pragmatic style; their playing style is understated yet resilient. They never force themselves to play beautiful football, but instead focus on defense and seek opportunities through sharp counter-attacks.

According to statistics, Everton's central attacks account for only 26% of their total attacks, ranking last among the 20 Premier League teams.

They relied more on Belgian midfielder Fellaini to make forward runs and act as a pivot, with Baines and Coleman on the wings launching long passes.

In defense, Moyes' central defensive pairing of Ja Gilka and Distin, along with the presence of captain and spiritual leader Phil Neville in the midfield, resulted in a fierce defense and a number of fouls that consistently ranked among the highest in the Premier League.

Facing a nemesis from last season, Mancini disregarded the Champions League group stage away game against Bayern Munich four days later and fielded his strongest lineup.

The goalkeeper position remains unchanged with Joe Hart, the center-back pairing is the old duo of Kompany and Lescott, and Clichy and Mika Richards will play as left-back and right-back respectively.

In the 4-2-3-1 formation, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure play as the two holding midfielders, with David Silva, Aguero, and Nasri in front of them.

Mancini made a small adjustment here. Since there was a lack of coordination between Aguero and Lin Yi, he simply moved Aguero's position back from the beginning, allowing him to stay away from the intense physical confrontation in the penalty area and gain more space to break through.

Lin Yi, on the other hand, naturally took on the role of the lone striker on the front line.

Everton, the away team, continued with their usual 4-1-4-1 formation in this match. In addition to the key players mentioned earlier, Moyes fielded Australian Cahill, who is good at heading, as the center forward, clearly indicating that the team was going to bombard Manchester City with headers.

As both teams lined up in the players' tunnel, Lin Yi felt a burning gaze fixed on him.

This made the naturally alert Lin Yi feel very uneasy. It was the same reason why Chu Yunfei was able to discover Li Yunlong disguised as a Nationalist soldier so quickly: Lin Yi had no acquaintances in Everton.

After a brief observation, Lin Yi quickly discovered that the person who had been staring at him was none other than the opposing team's captain, Phil Neville, from the "Class of '92".

His bodyguard and enforcer, Balotelli, didn't get a starting opportunity in this game and was sitting on the far bench fiddling with a training vest that he would never understand in his entire life.

Out of concern for his own safety, Lin Yi patted Aguero, who was standing in front of him, and kindly reminded him, "There's someone over there staring at you. I reckon he probably looks down on you. I suggest you go head-to-head with him from the start, don't back down!"

Aguero glanced at him, his eyes revealing undisguised contempt: "Ha, you're absolutely right. But unfortunately, I know that guy, Phil Neville from Manchester United. Guess if he looks down on me or some other guys who got kicked out of Manchester United."

"You bastard, secretly eating brains? Damn it, why are you so hard to fool now?"

"You're definitely going to be torn to shreds by him, and I'm really looking forward to it."

"Idiot, you're the one facing him, mind your own business first."

"Just wait to die! You weakling who cramps up during the match!"

"Shut your mouth, you short mule with zero goals and zero contributions in the Champions League!"

The two men's voices grew louder and louder, and the other Manchester City players wished they could bury their heads in their pants. If they hadn't had no other choice, they really wouldn't want to stand with these two shameful and disgraceful guys.

Everton's starting striker Cahill watched the two bickering in front of him, and recalling the media rumors about Balotelli, a thought popped into his head: "Does the oil tycoon look down on me because I'm not stupid enough?"

"Can you two keep a low profile? Everyone on the other side is watching us," Nasri said in a low voice, trying to persuade the two.

"Shut up!"

"This is none of your business!"

The two spoke in unison, turning their attention to Nasri and drawing a larger crowd.

Nasri was kicking himself. Why did I have to mess with those two idiots! If it weren't for the bonus for playing, he would have volunteered to come off the field and bring Balotelli on. Those three morons would definitely have gotten along well.

Lin Yi and Aguero's bickering continued until the last second before the kickoff, as their different positions forced them to temporarily separate.

Manchester City, having gained possession first, followed their usual practice of passing the ball around David Silva on the ground.

As expected, Everton retreated entirely, adopting a solid defensive stance.

24-year-old Fellaini sprinted all over the field, using his long legs to disrupt Manchester City's passing, while the others held their positions and waited for their chance.

One man's high press posed no threat to Manchester City's midfielders, led by David Silva.

After a few minutes of warm-up and probing, Manchester City's strategist decided to give Everton a shot and see what they were made of.

Silva suddenly sped up the pace, sending a through ball forward. Aguero, who had his back to goal, was tightly marked by Phil Neville and had no chance to turn around.

Akun chose to pass the ball back to Silva. The Spanish midfielder did not stop the ball, but instead sent out a lob pass, intending to bypass the opponent's defensive midfielder and connect directly with the forward Lin Yi.

Lin Yi stopped the ball to his side with the outside of his right foot. Seeing that the opposing center-back had blocked his path, Lin Yi took the opportunity to guide the ball outward, trying to create an angle to attempt a long-range shot.

Just as Lin Yi raised his right leg to prepare to shoot, he suddenly felt as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding truck. The huge impact sent Lin Yi flying several meters away, rolling twice on the grass before stopping.

"Hey kid, this is a little gift for you," Everton captain Phil Neville declared, taking responsibility for the attack.

It was he who sprinted from where he had been defending Aguero, and with the help of inertia, knocked Lin Yi away.

Still lying on the ground, Lin Yi was furious: "You idiot, are you brain-dead? Manchester United doesn't want you, so why are you causing me trouble? They didn't want me either!"

At a speed visible to the naked eye, Phil Neville's face turned red and his veins bulged.

He's turned red!