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

Having made the decision, Pellegrini no longer hesitated.

At a press conference the day before the match, he informed the world through the media that Manchester City would go all out to win.

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he would win the game in a completely new way.

Manchester City and Manchester United, the two city rivals, are currently tied on points in the league and have been the focus of media attention recently, causing the attention on this FA Cup match to skyrocket.

Three hours before the match, major media outlets began monitoring the official websites of both teams, hoping to get the starting lineups as soon as possible.

Manchester City's official website quickly released a press release for the match day, along with the full starting lineup and substitutes.

The starting goalkeepers are Joe Hart, the center-backs are Kompany and Richards, and the two full-backs are Clichy and Zabaleta.

New signing David Pizarro made his first appearance for Manchester City, replacing Yaya Toure in midfield, partnered with Nigel de Jong, who had performed well in the previous match.

David Silva played in the attacking midfield position, flanked by Aguero and Nasri on either side.

Lin Yi will continue to play as a false nine, and he will start making extensive runs at the start of the game, employing Pellegrini's strikerless tactics.

Manchester City's starting lineup perfectly matched the predictions of the media and fans, and also aligned with Pellegrini's statement at the press conference the day before that they would give it their all.

No surprises, no unexpected events, which means no breaking news.

The media, unwilling to give up, turned to Manchester United's official website, pinning their last hopes on Ferguson to see if he could create some surprises.

They refreshed the webpage again and again, but Manchester United's press release was nowhere to be seen.

Manchester United only announced their starting lineup for this crucial match 60 minutes before kickoff, just in time for the FA's deadline.

However, almost everyone who clicked on the page was stunned at first.

"Holy shit! They dare to do that? Manchester United have given up?"

"What the fuck?! Is Sir Alex Ferguson trying to play the emotional card with Lin?"

"Isn't this world updating a little too fast? Are 18-year-old demons already taking charge?"

The reason for this huge stir is that Manchester United's starting lineup included several unfamiliar names.

The first is Paul Pogba, a Guinean-French player born in March 1993 who will soon turn 19 and joined Manchester United's youth academy in 2009.

The other is Jesse Lingard, an English player born in December 1992 who just celebrated his 19th birthday a few days ago and joined Manchester United at the age of 7.

The third is Michael Keane. He, Pogba, and Lin Yi were all born in 1993. Before being called up to the first team, Keane, who played as a center-back, was the captain of Manchester United's youth team.

When Manchester United won the FA Youth Cup last season, he and top scorer Lin Yi lifted the trophy together.

These three young men occupy important positions as center-back, defensive midfielder, and attacking midfielder respectively in Manchester United's 4-4-2 formation, effectively dominating the entire central axis.

Pogba and Keane had previously made appearances in the League Cup, and this was their second appearance for Manchester United's first team.

Lingard went even further, making his first-team debut in this derby against Manchester City.

Seeing these three players on the field at the same time, and their opponent being their formidable city rivals Manchester City, most people's first reaction was that Ferguson was planning to abandon the FA Cup and focus all his efforts on improving his form to secure the league title.

However, looking at the players in other positions, they are all key players for Manchester United this season, making it impossible to guess what Ferguson was thinking.

How well-liked was Lin in the Manchester United youth team? Were these three lads his enemies or friends?

"How would I know who would care about such trivial matters?"

"Is Ferguson trying to tell Lin that his former teammate is on the other side, and to ask him to go easy on him?"

"You're hilarious. What good is an ex-teammate? If your ex-girlfriend suddenly showed up at your door, I bet you, Big Bird Ral, would fuck her until she flew away. Would you show her any mercy, have a heart-to-heart talk, and maybe lend her some money to have her current boyfriend's baby?"

"Um...please stop talking, I have a friend who doesn't want to hear it."

"Holy crap, did I guess right?"

"I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!"

No matter how these bored reporters speculate, it won't change the fact that Manchester United fielded three academy players at once.

What kind of effect it will have remains to be seen until the competition begins.

An hour passed quickly, and the FA Cup third-round match between Manchester City and Manchester United at the Stadio Olimpico was about to begin. The players were already lined up in the tunnel waiting to take the field.

At Kompany's insistence, Lin Yi wore the captain's armband for this match, and he stood at the very front of Manchester City's formation.

"Hey! You jerk, did you know I was going to play today and you're deliberately not turning around to act cool?" A black player with dyed blond hair ran from his own side to Lin Yi's back and slapped him hard on the back of the head.

When Lin turned around, the person who greeted him was his former teammate Pogba. Behind Pogba was Lingard, whose face was square with round features and who looked like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. He was later known as one of the "Gutter Trio" along with Westbrook and Mbappe.

"I'm third on the Premier League top scorer list, captain of Manchester City, a solid A-list superstar. What right do you two fringe trash have to talk to me?" Lin Yi mocked Pogba and Lingard mercilessly.

Lingard curled his lip: "What's so great about you, you bastard? It won't be long before I surpass you, and you won't even be worthy to carry my shoes! Your Lin Emperor, so arrogant! Yay!"

The three of them not only kept talking non-stop, but their hands and bodies were also constantly busy.

These three guys imitated NBA players' entrance, performing a very complicated hand gesture dance on the spot.

Lin Yi, Pogba, and Lingard skillfully high-fived, shook hands, bumped chests, and struck poses with their hands before dancing together in perfect unison, their intricate movements dazzling onlookers.

After an exaggerated dance, the grand finale was the three of them embracing tightly.

Lin Yi: "Watch how I beat you two to a pulp later."

Pogba: "Shit!"

Lingard: "Bullshit!"

Suddenly someone intervened and forcibly separated Lin Yi from Pogba and Lingard, who were embracing each other.

Turning around, I saw that the person who did this was Aguero. His face was ashen, his eyes were cold, and he exuded an aura that said, "Do not approach, there is a beast here."

Aguero first reprimanded Lin Yi with a stern face: "Laughing and joking around, what kind of captain are you! Go back and stand properly!"

Then he went straight for Pogba and Lingard, roughly shoving them aside: "Go back to your side. This is Manchester City territory. People in red are not welcome here."

Aguero stood in place, watching Pogba and Lingard, until the two had created enough distance between themselves and Lin Yi before returning to his place in the queue.

After standing there for a moment, Aguero suddenly ran out of the line and forced his way behind Joe Hart.

Within the rules, this was the closest he could get to Lin Yi.

Only after he had done all this did Aguero show a satisfied expression. He held his head high, like an elegant goose, showing disdain for all the creatures around him.