My Ultimate Gacha System

The referee raised his whistle, and Crystal Palace kicked off at Old Trafford as a completely different team from the one United had beaten four days earlier.

Andersen organized the back line with constant, sharp pointing before the ball had even moved.

Guéhi stayed touch-tight to Højlund rather than watching the ball the way Tuesday’s makeshift defense had.

Doucouré held his position in front of the back four like a wall that intended to stay standing.

Eze drifted into the pocket between United’s midfield and defense, while Ayew and Schlupp stayed poised on either side, ready to break forward the moment Palace won the ball back.

Demien took his place as the right-sided central midfielder ahead of Casemiro, with Bruno pushed higher and Højlund leading the line.

Rashford held the left touchline, and United’s right winger stretched the pitch on the opposite flank.

After Palace’s first pass went backward, the mission settled over him.

「MATCH MISSION ACTIVATED」 「MISSION: Break Crystal Palace’s Compact Block」 「Objective 1: Create 3 clear chances」 「Objective 2: Complete 4 line-breaking actions」 「Objective 3: Record 3 ball recoveries」 「Objective 4: Record 2 direct goal contributions」 「Reward: +60 MP」 「Bonus Objective: Lead at halftime」 「Bonus Reward: +5 TP」

Palace made the opening statement rather than allowing United to settle into it.

They circulated the ball backward from kickoff, drew United’s first press forward, then Andersen switched play with a long diagonal toward Ayew on United’s left.

Ayew shielded it under pressure, held off the first challenge, and won a throw-in high up the pitch when Dalot cut off his path forward.

From the throw-in, Palace recycled possession back to Andersen.

United closed too slowly, and Andersen carried the ball forward before curling a cross toward the far side of the box.

Guéhi arrived ahead of his marker and flicked a header narrowly wide of the post, and Onana tracked it across his goal line without needing to touch it.

Demien’s jaw tightened at how easily Palace had reached United’s box.

He pointed toward the space Andersen had exploited and said something quick to the right winger about closing the passing lane back to the center-back sooner.

"Palace have restored the spine that never started Tuesday’s match," the commentator said, "and it shows immediately — more compact, more physical, a different level of confidence."

United’s first possessions revealed exactly what Palace intended.

Varane’s partner could pass sideways without pressure, but the instant Casemiro glanced toward Demien, Doucouré stepped in close behind him.

A second Palace midfielder sat just behind Doucouré, blocking the lane into Bruno entirely.

Guéhi stayed glued to Højlund rather than watching the ball.

Demien’s first touch of the half came with Doucouré already pressing into his back.

He cushioned it across his body, dropped his center of gravity, held the midfielder off with his shoulder, and returned the pass to Casemiro before spinning immediately into the space beside Doucouré, asking for it again.

「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Press Resistant」 「STATS ACTIVE」 「Ball Control: 99 | Balance: 99 | Strength: 99」

Casemiro found him again.

Palace’s second midfielder closed from the side, but Demien released Rashford before the trap could shut, then kept moving to offer the return pass.

Around the seventh minute, United built their first real opening.

Demien dropped beside Casemiro and dragged Doucouré several yards away from Palace’s back line.

Bruno slid into the space behind him, but Palace’s second midfielder shifted across to cover it.

Demien received, shaped his body toward Bruno, then threaded the pass between both midfielders into Højlund’s feet instead.

「LEGENDARY TECHNIQUE ACTIVATED」 「Mesut Özil — Eye-of-Needle」 「STATS ACTIVE」 「Vision: 99 | Short Passing: 99」

Højlund held off Guéhi, rolled the ball beyond Andersen’s reach, and poked his finish toward the far corner.

Mitchell sprinted back and hooked it away from behind the line a fraction before it crossed.

Old Trafford rose expecting the goal, then groaned as one when Mitchell’s clearance registered.

Højlund stared at the goal line in disbelief.

Demien threw both hands up in frustration, then immediately clapped toward the striker, because the movement and the finish had both been right.

「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Clear Chances Created: 1/3」 「Line-Breaking Actions: 1/4」

"That disguised pass just opened Palace’s senior back line for the first time all afternoon," the commentator said. "Credit to Mitchell, though — that’s a goal-saving recovery."

Palace responded by tightening around Demien specifically rather than sticking to their plan.

Doucouré stayed closer.

Schlupp began drifting inside whenever United had the ball.

Andersen stepped a yard higher every time Demien received facing forward.

Demien noticed the extra attention and started using it against them.

Around the twelfth minute, he drifted toward the right touchline and let Doucouré follow him out there.

Bruno drifted into the central space that opened behind him.

Casemiro found Demien wide, and Demien returned it first time before Doucouré could close him down.

Bruno received facing goal and drove at Palace’s back line.

Andersen stepped out to meet him.

Højlund curved his run between Andersen and Guéhi.

Demien kept running behind the whole move rather than standing still to admire his own pass.

Bruno found him again near the edge of the final third.

Demien took one touch forward, forced Guéhi into an impossible choice between him and Højlund, and slipped the striker in behind the defense.

Højlund controlled it with his first touch and drove his second low across Johnstone into the far corner.

Manchester United 1 — 0 Crystal Palace Rasmus Højlund 14’ (Assist: Demien Walter)

Demien sprinted to Højlund and grabbed him around the shoulders, shouting with real satisfaction because the same partnership from the cup tie had just worked against Palace’s senior defense as well.

Højlund pointed straight back at him as the crowd celebrated.

Bruno arrived a second later and tapped Demien’s chest, because the move had begun with him dragging Doucouré out of position in the first place.

「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Direct Goal Contributions: 1/2」 「Clear Chances Created: 2/3」 「Line-Breaking Actions: 2/4」

"Palace defended that phase correctly for a long time," the commentator said, "but Demien Walter manipulated Doucouré’s position, kept running, and punished the single hesitation between Guéhi and Andersen."

Palace didn’t collapse after conceding.

They stopped trying to build patiently through Doucouré and started hitting longer passes toward Mateta instead, with Ayew and Eze positioning themselves for the second ball.

Around the eighteenth minute, Andersen launched one over United’s midfield.

Mateta backed into the center-back, headed it down toward Eze, and Eze took it on the half-turn, trying to accelerate through the middle.

Demien tracked back at full speed, reached him before the edge of the penalty area, and angled his body to cut off the pass into Ayew rather than diving into a rash challenge.

He forced Eze toward the touchline until Casemiro arrived to help win the ball back.

「LEGENDARY TECHNIQUE ACTIVATED」 「N’Golo Kanté — Everywhere at Once」 「STATS ACTIVE」 「Acceleration: 99 | Defensive Awareness: 93 | Aggression: 98」 「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Ball Recoveries: 1/3」

Demien shouted his approval toward Casemiro and clapped his hands together, still carrying the energy from the goal minutes earlier.

Palace tried a different approach to stopping him.

Around the twentieth minute, Demien received from Casemiro and turned away from Doucouré, only for Ayew to step across his running line and catch him late on the hip.

Demien hit the turf and turned straight to the referee, pointing once at the contact rather than accepting it silently.

The referee gave the foul without a card.

Demien got up, held Ayew’s stare for a beat, then took the restart quickly while Palace were still reorganizing.

The quick free kick found Rashford wide.

He attacked Mitchell, cut inside, and shot low, but Johnstone saved at the near post, and Palace cleared the rebound before Højlund could reach it.

Around the twenty-third minute, Palace won the free kick that led to their equalizer.

Ayew received on United’s right and drew a needless challenge near the touchline — the United defender reaching across from the wrong side and clipping him even though Ayew was already moving away from goal.

Demien turned sharply toward the defender and spread his hands in open frustration before moving into the box to help organize the set piece.

Eze placed the ball while Palace crowded the penalty area, Andersen lurking beyond the far-post group, Guéhi and Mateta occupying United’s central markers.

Eze curled the delivery beyond the first line.

Højlund reached for the header but couldn’t get clean contact, and the ball carried on toward Andersen at the far side of the box.

Andersen struck it first time, and the ball rose violently through the crowded area before crashing into the top corner faster than Onana could set himself.

Manchester United 1 — 1 Crystal Palace Joachim Andersen 25’

Andersen sprinted toward the away end, Guéhi reaching him first, Palace’s bench rising as one because their senior side had just answered the cup humiliation directly.