At the beginning of the second half, Rooney immediately felt the huge pressure from Manchester City's defense.
As Manchester United's star player and offensive core, Rooney's performance has a decisive impact on the team's frontcourt offensive.
However, at this time, he seemed a little overwhelmed by the layers of double-teaming by the opposing defenders.
Manchester City's defensive players were close to Rooney, casting a thick shadow on his activity space.
Even his teammates found it difficult to provide timely support, which made Rooney's situation worse.
Gradually, his state began to decline, and he was no longer as sharp as in the first half in terms of running or ball control.
In contrast, Manchester City became more and more confident as they played.
On the right side, Li Lei was like a wild horse that broke through Manchester United's defense again and again, and sent the ball into the opponent's penalty area amid the cheers of the Blue Moon fans.
De Bruyne in the midfield also always controlled the rhythm of the game. His organization and passing became the engine of Manchester City's offense, shocking the Blues fans present.
Guardiola nodded with satisfaction on the sidelines.
In order to maintain and strengthen this offensive, he decisively replaced Sterling, who performed mediocrely, with Navas in the 55th minute.
Then, in the 77th minute, he replaced center forward Bony with Iheanacho.
This substitution immediately produced miraculous results.
Iheanacho, who had just come on the field, was full of energy. His active fight in the frontcourt successfully pinned down several Manchester United defenders, creating opportunities for Li Lei's breakthrough.
Li Lei took advantage of the situation to break into the penalty area. Facing De Gea's attack, he did not hesitate at all. He pulled his right foot and the ball went into the net!
At the moment when Li Lei's ball went into the net, the ecstasy in his heart seemed to break through the shackles of his body.
He ran, waving his arms towards the Manchester City fans in the stands, with an extremely bright smile on his face.
As he ran, he put his right hand to his lips and blew a kiss, as if to say to the fans: "This goal is dedicated to you!"
Then, he pointed to the sky with both hands, his eyes were pious, as if thanking God for his favor.
In the stands, the fans of Blue Moon had already fallen into madness.
They shouted Li Lei's name, and some even burst into tears.
They stretched out their arms and responded to the hero on the court, as if to pass all their love and strength to him.
Li Lei ran to the corner flag area, jumped up, and his legs drew a perfect scissors gesture in the air.
This is his signature celebration action. He would do this after every goal to express his joy and desire for victory.
Afterwards, his teammates also rushed up and surrounded him.
De Bruyne gave him a big hug, and Navas rubbed his hair hard.
Everyone's face was filled with joyful smiles, celebrating this crucial goal.
Li Lei looked at the stands and bowed to the fans. Without their support, he would not have performed today.
He pointed to the Manchester City badge on his chest and the name "Li Lei" behind him, as if to say: "I am proud to wear the Blue Moon jersey, and I will continue to fight for Manchester City!"
The fans were deeply moved by his actions.
They shouted his name, and the tsunami-like "Li Lei! Li Lei!" resounded throughout the stadium.
At this moment, Li Lei and Manchester City fans were in tune with each other, and they shared the joy of this victory together.
1:0! Manchester City is leading!
The stadium was filled with cheers, and Manchester City players gathered together to celebrate this hard-earned goal.
On the other side, Van Gaal's face was gloomy and his brows were furrowed.
If the score cannot be equalized as soon as possible, this derby may be lost at home.
In the Sky Sports live broadcast room, after Li Lei scored, the host Keane couldn't help but jump up excitedly.
"goooooooal"
"Oh my god, did you see that? Li Lei, the magician from the East, his goal is simply amazing!" Keane shouted excitedly.
"His breakthrough, his shot, all done in one go, Manchester United's defense has no way to deal with it!"
"This goal came too timely," Jones commented.
"At the beginning of the second half, Manchester City showed an overwhelming advantage."
"They played at a very high level in every position on the field, especially Li Lei and De Bruyne, their tacit cooperation is amazing."
"That's right, Jones," Keane continued to analyze.
"Manchester City's performance in the second half can be described as 'perfect'."
"Their ball possession rate and pass success rate are far higher than Manchester United."
"Guardiola's substitutions were also very timely. The appearance of Navas and Iheanacho injected new vitality into Manchester City."
"On the other hand, Manchester United seemed to be in the second half."It seems a bit overwhelmed," Jones pointed out.
"Especially Rooney, as the core of the team, he can hardly play to his due level under the opponent's tight defense. "
"Manchester United's offense has become monotonous and lacks creativity. "
"In this game, Manchester City showed their championship appearance," Keane concluded.
"From the coach's tactical arrangements to the players' performance on the field, every link is almost perfect. "
"If they can maintain this state, Manchester City will undoubtedly be the biggest favorite to win the Premier League this season. "
"Don't forget Li Lei's contribution," Jones added, "As an Asian player, it is not easy to perform well in such a high-intensity game. "
"His goal not only won Manchester City the victory, but also proved the power of Asian football to the world. "
"Now the game has come to the 80th minute, Manchester City is still leading 1:0," Keane looked at the timer.
"In the next time, whether Manchester United can equalize the score or Manchester City can add icing on the cake, we will wait and see. "
"But no matter what the result is, this will be a Manchester derby that will go down in history!"
After the celebration, the game resumed.
Li Lei returned to his position, waiting for Manchester United to kick off.
At this time, Manchester United coach Van Gaal, who was behind in the score, began to adjust the lineup and try to reverse the situation.
First, he replaced Mata with Lingard, and this substitution seemed to inject new vitality into Manchester United's offense.
Immediately afterwards, Fellaini was also sent on the field, replacing Schweinsteiger.
Fellaini's joining was obviously to strengthen the midfield's fighting strength and provide more support for Rooney in the frontcourt.
However, facing Manchester City, which has already taken the advantage, it is still unknown whether Van Gaal's adjustment will work.
Manchester City coach Guardiola is well versed in the art of football. He keenly perceived the opponent's intentions and immediately made corresponding arrangements.
In the 83rd minute, he replaced Kompany, who had received a yellow card, with Zabaleta to strengthen Manchester City's defense.
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