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

The two gold medal-winning partners from Sky Sports have different interpretations of Lin Yi's transformation on the court.

Martin Tyler said: "Lin's yellow card seems to have had a good effect, allowing him to sober up and stop obsessively battling Phil Neville. A Lin who gets back on track is a bigger threat to Everton."

Alan Smith, who lost the bet because of Lin Yi and had to invite Taylor to taste the new rare series of whisky, still feels the pain of spending tens of thousands of pounds to this day.

Hearing his partner's opinion, he said sarcastically, "I don't think Lin has that kind of awareness. I'd rather believe he backed down. Phil isn't just about brute force; he's one of the top ten players in Premier League history in terms of appearances. In terms of match experience, Lin is no match for him."

"In any case, it is definitely a good thing for Manchester City that Lin can return to Pellegrini's tactical system."

"Indeed, if Lin hadn't been careful around Phil, I think he might not have even finished the first half before getting his second yellow card under Phil's protection."

Regardless of what Lin Yi was thinking, the situation on the ground was indeed as Martin Tyler had analyzed.

As his movement became more agile, Manchester City's attack became more threatening.

Lin Yi, Aguero, and the two wingers Nasri and David Silva began to frequently switch positions. Everton's defenders felt dizzy from the constant switching of players, with one player taking the field after another.

This made it very difficult for Everton to cope, and even with the home advantage, they were still dominated by the away team, Manchester City.

In the 16th minute of the first half, Lin Yi moved to the right wing, leaving the center to David Silva, while Aguero took the opportunity to slip into Everton's penalty area.

Upon receiving a pass from Silva, Lin accelerated down a straight line. Everton's left-back Baines, wary of Lin's terrifying speed, immediately turned and accelerated, fearing that he might be overtaken by Lin in the blink of an eye.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yi only took two steps before suddenly coming to a stop.

Fortunately, Baines is only 170cm tall, and his short stature makes him agile enough to force himself to stop on the spot.

Just as Baines regained his balance and his body was still stiff and unable to connect to the next movement, Lin Yi started again.

By changing his rhythm, Lin Yi successfully shook off his opponent, creating an angle for cutting inside or passing the ball.

Looking up, Aguero successfully drew the attention of the opposing defenders in the penalty area.

Lin Yi keenly noticed that Nasri had quietly slipped in from afar and was currently unguarded.

This made Lin Yi abandon his plan to dribble inside and quickly take a cross.

However, he was too focused on his teammates' positioning, failing to notice that Phil Neville had come to cover, and also failing to control his passing technique.

Lin Yi's cross was blocked by Neville's outstretched leg, flying directly out of bounds instead of landing at Nasri's feet as he had anticipated.

"Come on!" Phil Neville, already in high spirits, yelled excitedly at Lin Yi after a successful defensive play, then taunted, "Kid, weren't you so arrogant? Don't hide from me! Come over here, let's have a good match!"

During the pre-match analysis meeting, Everton manager Moyes meticulously analyzed the significant threat posed by Manchester City's frequent positional changes in attack.

Phil Neville, a graduate of Class of '92 who spent many years working with Sir Alex Ferguson, possessed exceptional tactical acumen.

He knew that if Lin Yi got carried away and stubbornly fought him in the penalty area, it would greatly reduce the pressure on his team's defense. So Neville tried to make the young man lose his temper by mocking him.

And to be fair, attacking Lin Yi face-to-face is a very satisfying thing, so Neville's smile became even brighter.

Faced with the other party's provocation, Lin Yi stared at Neville's somewhat distorted smile and nodded: "Wait, don't rush!"

Lin Yi's "Yi" truly lived up to its name, meaning "a promise is a promise," and he didn't keep Neville waiting too long.

Lin Yi arrived just 5 minutes later.

During Manchester City's attacking run, he dropped back to the midfield area, then suddenly turned around and accelerated straight into the penalty area.

David Silva, with Aguero's run as cover, found a comfortable passing opportunity. His through ball was as precise as if drawn with a drawing tool, sending the ball through the gap between two defenders.

Lin Yi successfully received the pass while running at high speed, with only Everton's two center-backs in front of him.

In high spirits and brimming with confidence, Phil Neville took over Heitinga's job. Instead of letting his teammates take the lead, he volunteered to rush up and block Lin Yi.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin noticed the opponent's aggressive approach. He wondered if they were truly afraid. He tried to dodge the opponent's tackle with a flick of his toe, but he didn't control the force well, and the ball went slightly out of control, rolling towards the outside.

The experienced Neville instantly noticed Lin Yi's mistake in controlling the ball. A look of ecstasy flashed in his eyes as he rushed over at full speed, swinging his right leg, ready to send the ball and Lin Yi flying together.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, Lin Yi had to take a large step forward with his left leg to protect the ball while supporting his body, and lift his right leg back, seemingly intending to launch a shot.

Neville had already completed half of his clearance attempt, but he ignored Lin Yi's ball-protecting maneuver and resolutely carried out his original plan.

At that moment, Neville's mind was filled with the beautiful image of sending Lin Yi flying with the ball, so much so that he didn't notice that Lin Yi's left leg, which was used to protect the ball and provide support, was not straight as it would be during a normal shot, but rather bent at the knee and turned slightly outward.

It was this seemingly insignificant change in movement that caused Neville's right leg, which he swung with all his might, to collide violently with Lin Yi's knee before hitting the ball.

At the moment of impact, Lin Yi's left leg muscles tensed instantly, locking firmly to the ground like a pillar of strength. The huge impact brought a crisp "crack" sound!

The supporting leg was constantly engaged in muscle exertion, allowing Lin Yi to retain some control over his body.

Before losing his balance, Lin Yi swung his right leg down and struck the soccer ball with the outside of his foot.

Originally intended as a powerful shot with the instep, it turned into a clever shot, the momentum of the body falling to the ground giving the ball a strong spin.

Lin Yi's kick drew a strange arc in the air, flying directly over the head of another center-back, Heitinga, and into the goal through the junction of the crossbar and the goalpost.

"ah!!!"

The screams of agony and the sound of the soccer ball scraping against the net came almost simultaneously.

After a moment's hesitation, referee Webb blew the whistle he had been holding in his mouth, pointed to the center circle with his right hand, and announced that the goal was valid.

Lin Yi, who had fallen to the ground, leaped up quickly. He then looked down at Phil Neville, who was rolling around clutching his knee, and squatted down to ask with concern, "How could you be so careless? You bumped the side of your knee into the front of mine? Did you train for this?"

Feigning concern, Lin Yi glanced at the other person's knees and scratched his head: "I've never trained before, how could I dare?"