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

Lin Yi's goal came in the 58th minute of the second half, a little too late for Dalglish's planned counter-attack.

All the Liverpool players turned their eyes to Gerrard, waiting for his instructions.

Gerrard looked toward the sidelines, where King Dalglish stood quietly without giving any instructions, clearly handing the decision-making power over to his disciple.

Gerrard turned his head and glanced at the south stand of Al-Ittihad, where about 2000 KOPs who had traveled with the team were gathered.

At this moment, they held up Liverpool scarves and sang the classic song "You'll Never Walk Alone" in unison.

"When you've walked through a storm, lift your head, don't be afraid of the darkness... Keep walking, keep walking, with hope in your heart, you'll never walk alone!"

To the accompaniment of the melodious tune, Gerrard waved his hand.

"Let's fight them!"

After the game restarted, everyone noticed Liverpool's change. They no longer retreated to defend, but instead pushed forward with all their players, ready to fight Manchester City to the death in the last half hour.

Dalglish watched the children's choices from the sidelines, a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face.

To show his support, he substituted Bellamy for Henderson, who was playing as a defensive midfielder, and immediately changed the formation to 4-3-3.

It has to be said that this is a very risky move. The season is already halfway through, and most teams have already experienced how terrifying Lin Yi's speed is when Manchester City launches counter-attacks.

But Dalglish, true to his nature, did more than just do that; he also specifically instructed Bellamy before he went on stage: "Tell Steven to go for it, don't be afraid of anything!"

Pellegrini responded quickly, without making any personnel changes, but simply swapping positions between Toure and Milner, allowing Yaya Toure to return to his familiar defensive midfield position.

Manchester City strengthened their midfield control while maintaining the same number of attacking players in the front three.

"Liverpool are attacking!"

"Manchester City didn't back down; this match is going to be exciting!"

Manchester City continued their fast-paced, pack-like attacking tactics, while Liverpool, frankly speaking, displayed a relatively predictable attacking style. Their strength came more from momentum than from technical and tactical prowess.

But it was this fighting spirit that kept Liverpool from falling behind on the field.

Unlike Chu Yunfei's troops, who vowed not to eat breakfast until they captured Zhao Village, Liverpool truly demonstrated a powerful spirit.

First and foremost was their captain Gerrard, who tested Joe Hart with his signature powerful long-range shot just five minutes after Lin scored.

Of course, Joe Hart, as always, failed the test, and it was the crossbeams of the Etihad Stadium that truly kept Gerrard's powerful shots out.

Fortunately, Joe Hart didn't falter. He reacted quickly, jumping to catch the ball and preventing Suarez, who had been frustrated for most of the game, from scoring.

Manchester City quickly responded, with Toure returning to his defensive midfield position and immediately launching a counter-attack using his signature long passes.

Lin Yi received a pass from Toure on the wing, passed the ball to Milner, and then made a run. Milner immediately sent a through ball, and Lin Yi, who received the ball again on the edge of the penalty area, swept the ball powerfully towards the middle.

The ball's handling was unexpected, but unfortunately, the accuracy was slightly off. Aguero, who was following up in the middle, failed to reach the ball, and it slid past Liverpool's goal and eventually went out of bounds.

This attacking situation lasted for about ten minutes before the momentum gradually shifted in Liverpool's favor.

The reason is simple: Manchester City players are getting tired of running.

Pellegrini's tactical style places extremely high demands on the running ability of players, especially the forwards, who need to constantly switch positions and stretch the defense in the opponent's half.

These players in Manchester City's squad are not known for their physical strength.

As their physical condition deteriorated, Manchester City's control of the attacking third weakened significantly, while Liverpool's counter-attacking momentum grew stronger.

In the 73rd minute, the tireless Kuyt intercepted the ball near midfield, took a few steps forward and passed it to substitute Bellamy, who lofted the ball at a 45° angle into the penalty area. Suarez attempted a bicycle kick, but unfortunately the ball didn't connect properly and went wide of the goal.

Four minutes later, Gerrard suddenly sent a through pass forward to Suarez, who received the ball with his back to goal. Facing Kompany's close marking, the Uruguayan striker demonstrated his imagination by gently flicking the ball with his right foot before turning and volleying it into the air.

Fortunately, Joe Hart was well-positioned and blocked the powerful shot with both fists.

Suarez's shot was so unpredictable that Manchester City's defenders were all a beat too slow to react, and by the time they got to control the second ball, it was already too late.

After passing the ball, Gerrard charged forward and appeared at the ball's landing point. His eyes were fixed on the flying football, his right leg muscles tense, ready to unleash another powerful shot.

"You can't catch me, but I can catch you!"

Just a second before Gerrard was about to shoot, he heard Lin Yi's voice in his ear.

Lin Yi made a very rare defensive retreat to his own penalty area, appearing at the most crucial moment.

The only slight drawback is that while Lin Yi spoke very eloquently, his work was a little rough.

Gerrard had already taken the lead, and Lin Yi, who was blocked behind him, had no choice but to use an awkward and clumsy motion to perform a takedown-like move on Gerrard, and the two of them fell down together in front of the Manchester City penalty area.

The referee blew his whistle, awarding Liverpool a direct free kick and showing Lin Yi a yellow card.

Gerrard and Suarez briefly discussed it, and then stood together in front of the ball, making it unclear who would take the penalty kick.

The tall and imposing Lin Yi appeared in the very center of the wall. He had a strong premonition that Gerrard would not relinquish his position as the primary free-kick taker at this moment; he would definitely take the free kick directly in front of the goal himself.

As expected, Suarez was just feigning a run-up; the real killer move came from Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who unleashed a powerful shot, intending to overwhelm Manchester City's wall with sheer force.

This straightforward choice created an unlucky guy, Lin Yi.

Gerrard's powerful shot struck Lin Yi squarely in the chest, the sound of the ball hitting Lin Yi echoing throughout the entire Al-Ittihad stadium.

The immense impact caused Lin Yi to instinctively take a step back before he could barely regain his balance. Without hesitation, Lin Yi gritted his teeth, pushed off with his back leg, and immediately lunged towards Gerrard, who was preparing to follow up with a shot.

"Bang!"

Within seconds, another loud bang echoed across the Etihad Stadium. Gerrard's second shot was blocked by Lin Yi's face, and Kompany quickly followed up with a long kick to clear the ball out of bounds, finally thwarting Liverpool's attack.

Lin Yi swayed slightly after being hit in the face by the soccer ball, but he immediately tensed up and forced himself to stand firm.

Adjusting his facial expression, Lin Yi forced a smile with his somewhat stiff facial muscles, then said to Gerrard in a seemingly relaxed manner, "Listen, your fans are singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone,' so from now on, wherever you go, I'll go. You won't walk alone; I'll be with you."

Gerald frowned, tilted his head to look at Lin Yi, remained silent for a few seconds, and slowly said, "Stop dreaming, you're about to be taken away to stop the bleeding."

Only then did Lin Yi realize that blood had been gushing from his nose, and drops of blood bloomed like beautiful flowers on the chest of his sky-blue jersey.

"Hey, you little mule! Come here! I have a task for you." Lin Yi covered his nose and shouted loudly.