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

The reason why Tottenham underwent a complete transformation after their crushing defeat to Manchester City is that Redknapp abandoned unrealistic distractions.

He fully learned from the lessons of the match against Manchester City, decisively changed his approach, and altered his coaching philosophy.

Redknapp no ​​longer instills complex tactical systems in his players, nor does he emphasize how to limit opponents on the field.

He gave outstanding players like Modric, Bale, Lennon, Van der Vaart, and Adebayor ample freedom, allowing them to play freely on the field and rely on their individual abilities to solve problems.

This unleashed the true nature of Tottenham's players, successfully creating a youth storm on the Premier League pitch.

In this away game against Manchester City, Tottenham continued their style and philosophy. Apart from emphasizing the importance of this game, Redknapp did not say a word about tactical arrangements.

January 22, 2012, was the 29th day of the 12th lunar month in the Xinmao year. Since there was no 30th day of the 12th lunar month that year, this day was the Chinese New Year's Eve.

The match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will kick off at 1:30 pm local time in the UK.

Many international students and football fans stranded in the UK and unable to return home for the Chinese New Year gave up watching the Spring Festival Gala and spontaneously organized themselves online to travel to Etihad.

They treated watching Lin Yi's game live as a special way to celebrate the New Year.

With a long whistle from the referee, the match officially began.

The Chinese fan group, who arrived a bit late, quickly pulled out the hand-painted, festive signs that everyone had made, and had those sitting closer to the front hold them up high to cheer on Lin Yi.

The remaining people held up posters, jerseys, or Manchester City scarves of Lin Yi, chanting in unison, "Lin Yi! Go for it!"

However, everyone's good mood only lasted for 10 minutes before the villainous Tottenham Hotspur completely ruined the warm and peaceful atmosphere.

Gareth Bale, who had a frustrating game against Manchester City last time, used his speed to break through Manchester City's entire right-wing defense on his familiar left flank.

After Bale outmaneuvered Nasri and Zabaleta, he fired a low shot into the far corner of the goal from the edge of the penalty area. Joe Hart stretched out his body as much as possible but still couldn't reach the ball, which grazed the far post and rolled into the goal.

Manchester City fell behind early in the game and were on the back foot.

Worse was yet to come: Manchester City, eager to equalize, pressed forward aggressively, giving Tottenham plenty of space to counter-attack.

In the 28th minute of the first half, it was still Welsh speedster Gareth Bale who, after switching positions with Lennon, once again tormented the Manchester City defenders on the other side.

Although Nigel de Jong, the starting defensive midfielder, moved to this side in advance to provide cover, his aggressive tackle was dodged by Bale with incredible speed.

Clichy behind him was also unable to stop Bale's rapid breakthrough, and Bale cut inside with a right foot.

Bale, having created space, used his signature left foot to curl a shot into the air.

It was still from the far corner, still hanging straight into the blind spot, and Joe Hart was still out of reach.

Half an hour into the game, Tottenham were leading Manchester City by two goals away from home.

If the first goal conceded was primarily focused on equalizing as quickly as possible, then Bale's second goal somewhat dampened their confidence.

Many people showed signs of panic, and this emotion was even transmitted to the fans.

"Damn! If I'd known it would be like this, I would have stayed in my dorm and watched the Spring Festival Gala. This competition is way more awful than those forced sentimental dumpling-making skits!"

"What are you saying! It's normal for football matches to have winners and losers!"

"So what if I say I'm upset? You can't just ignore it? Don't you feel upset watching Lin Yi get tortured like a dog during the Lunar New Year?"

Since this viewing event was organized spontaneously by fans online, most of them were not familiar with each other, and many did not even know the compatriots sitting next to them.

The two people arguing were in this situation; they didn't know each other, and as the argument escalated, an older fan rushed over to stop them.

"Keep quiet, everyone. We're here to support our compatriots, not to fight amongst ourselves!"

The young man who started shouting was clearly unconvinced, and said sarcastically, "We've already conceded two goals before the first half is even over, how can we support them? Why don't you jump off the field and strangle Bale?"

The middle-aged man who came to mediate thought for a moment: "Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, a joyous occasion. Legend has it that the Spring Festival originated from the ancient ferocious beast 'Nian' wreaking havoc on humankind."

Pointing to Bell, who was celebrating wildly in Etihad and looking every bit the villain, the middle-aged man continued, "Look at Bell's arrogant demeanor, isn't he just as annoying as Nian!"

The young man was a bit confused, not understanding what the other person was trying to say, and asked with a wild imagination, "You're really planning to jump down and strangle him to death?"

"Of course not." The middle-aged man shook his head. "Legend has it that the Nian is most afraid of three things: red, fire, and loud noise."

"We can't bring firecrackers in, and the Etihad Stadium has plenty of loud noises. What we can do is find something red to show our support for Lin Yi. That's a fitting way to celebrate the holiday."

His suggestion caught the attention of everyone around him, and they all agreed, then began searching their bodies for red items.

Fortunately, today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and many people are already wearing red clothes and red scarves to celebrate the holiday.

At this moment, they took off their scarves and coats, and held them up to scare the Nian beast, Bell.

People who weren't wearing red clothes started racking their brains for ideas, coming up with all sorts of red phone cases, keychains, backpacks, and more.

The most eye-catching item was a pair of red Ferragamo high heels, belonging to a well-off and sweet-looking female fan.

The young man who started complaining saw that everyone was doing it, and even the girls didn't mind going barefoot. He wanted to follow suit, but after searching his entire body, he couldn't find a single red item.

The person sitting next to him who had almost gotten into an argument with him had now put aside their earlier unpleasantness and asked with concern, "Do you want me to borrow something for you?"

The young man gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and said fiercely, "No need! I have my own way!" Then he turned and headed straight for the restroom.

Not long after, the young man returned to his seat carrying a pair of red long underwear.

Amidst the astonished gazes of those around him, he proudly held up his red long johns and said, "I was born in the Year of the Dragon, and tonight marks my birth year. That's why I changed into red long johns in advance, and I never expected them to be so helpful."

A red area inexplicably appeared in the blue sea of ​​the Etihad Stadium.

Even Lin Yi was drawn to the striking red color during halftime and ran down to the stands to investigate.

"Just go for it! We're from that backwater, we've never backed down in front of anyone!"

"Damn it! Kill that bastard Bear Grylls!"

"Lin Yi, rise up! Forget about Bell or anything like that, I'll crush them all!"

"Who's Bale? Go ahead and tackle him! Go ahead and kick him!"

"Please help me! What, Bell? Tell him to go back to sleep!"

Seeing Lin Yi walk over, everyone chimed in with their support.

Compatriots from all over the country, speaking in various dialects, coupled with the noisy environment, made it impossible for Lin Yi to understand what they were shouting, but he did understand that touch of Chinese red that belongs exclusively to the Chinese nation.

Lin smiled, patted his chest heavily towards the fans in the stands, and shouted loudly.

"Happy Spring Festival!"