From their pre-match swagger and declarations of certain victory at home to going three goals down and completely collapsing by halftime, Tottenham needed only thirty-eight minutes to witness the absolute dominance of a dynasty's ruler.
In first-half stoppage time, the crumbling Tottenham nearly conceded again. Fortunately, their goalkeeper made a brilliant save, barely keeping out Suarez's one-on-one placed shot and preserving the scoreline.
The referee blew the whistle for halftime, with the score fixed at 3-0.
Arsenal, playing away from home, held a massive three-goal advantage and had the match firmly under control. The outcome no longer held any suspense.
In the dressing room at halftime, Wenger did not celebrate extravagantly. He merely reminded his players to maintain the tempo, not underestimate their opponents, keep up the intensity in the second half, crush their rivals completely, and claim a resounding derby victory.
Tottenham's dressing room, by contrast, was stiflingly oppressive. The players hung their heads, their morale utterly gone. Their confidence and fighting spirit for the entire match had been completely shattered by Li Yufei's three consecutive goals.
The teams switched ends and resumed play for the second half.
Trailing by a huge margin, Tottenham made a desperate push, committing men forward in an attempt to salvage some pride.
But the price of pushing forward in force was a back line riddled with holes and vast open spaces, handing Arsenal the perfect opportunity to finish them off on the counterattack.
In the fifty-seventh minute, Arsenal's dream connection was on display once more!
Modrić controlled the ball elegantly in midfield, repeatedly feinting past several players closing him down before threading through an incisive pass.
Li Yufei burst forward at high speed, took the ball in stride, and charged into the penalty area. Facing two defenders closing in on him, he used