My Ultimate Gacha System

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Allianz Arena — Second Half

Adriano stepped over the touchline in Bayern red.

"Two players shaped in the same academy," the commentator said, "once spoken about as close prospects coming through Fiorentina’s system. Now on opposite sides of a Champions League night."

Demien’s eyes stopped following the ball for half a second. His jaw tightened.

Adriano looked across the pitch and gave him a brief nod.

Demien nodded back. He didn’t smile. They were still opponents, and the scoreline hadn’t cared about any of it — Bayern were still up 2-1, and that was the only thing that mattered for the next thirty minutes.

Bayern used him immediately.

The first ball into Adriano came between Dalot and Pellistri, and he took it clean, one touch rolling away from the pressure before either of them could close him down. He combined with Musiala off the return and kept the move alive without needing a second look at the ball.

Demien watched the touch and understood what Bayern had actually brought on. Not just another attacker — someone calm enough to keep the ball moving when United tried to force a mistake out of him.

The next attack nearly made it 3-1.

Adriano played a quick wall pass with Kane, one touch each, and Musiala slipped into the half-space behind it while Sané curved into the inside lane on the far side. Demien read it late, because the move was already two passes deep before the picture became clear to him, and by the time he closed the distance Sané already had the shot.

Sané drove it low toward the near post.

Onana got down fast, one hand pushing it away, and Martínez arrived to hack the loose ball clear before Kane could reach the rebound.

"Bayern are using Adriano’s freshness to stretch United’s midfield," the commentator said. "United need to keep the ball better, or this becomes a long half."

Demien dropped deeper to receive from Onana, and Bayern closed the space immediately — Musiala pressing from behind, Goretzka stepping in front. He wanted to calm the match down and move United up the pitch, but the obvious forward pass wasn’t there.

「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Press Resistant」

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Toni Kroos — Metronome」

He shielded the ball through the contact and released it first-time into Bruno before Goretzka could close the angle.

Bruno turned and found Rashford, and United had their first real counter of the half. Rashford drove at the back line, but he waited a beat too long for Højlund’s run to develop, and Kim recovered in time to cut off the final pass.

Demien clapped once and told them to keep moving, but his face gave away more than the clap did. Bayern weren’t going to keep handing United chances like that.

Bayern made United pay for it.

Adriano received near the right half-space and pulled Dalot out of position before slipping the ball into Kane’s feet. Kane didn’t spin — he dropped, dragging Varane out with him, and Gnabry attacked the space Kane had just emptied.

Demien saw the far-side run and pointed, but Pellistri reacted a half-step late.

Kane laid it back into the box. Gnabry arrived at the back post and finished it clean, the ball skimming under Onana’s dive.

BAYERN MUNICH 3 — 1 MANCHESTER UNITED Serge Gnabry 64’ Assist: Adriano Ventresca

Demien turned before the ball had even crossed the line, because he already knew the lane was lost. He didn’t look for anyone to blame. He walked back to the center circle, breathing hard, while Bayern celebrated around Adriano.

Adriano celebrated with his teammates and glanced once toward Demien. Nothing more than that.

「MATCH STATE UPDATE」

「Bayern Munich 3 — 1 Manchester United」 「Momentum: Bayern」 「Team Morale: Falling」

United looked shaken at the restart.

Bruno was angry, shouting at nobody in particular. Højlund stood isolated up front, cut off from the rest of the play. Rashford kept calling for the ball with both arms up. Casemiro tried to hold the center together on his own.

Demien’s job was to stop it from becoming a collapse.

He started demanding the ball with his hands instead of his voice, dropping into the gap between Casemiro and Bruno to give United somewhere to go.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker」

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Toni Kroos — Metronome」

He took two short passes under pressure, switched one ball wide, then disguised a pass into Højlund’s feet. Højlund laid it back to Bruno, and Bruno’s first-time shot forced Ulreich into a save.

United didn’t score. But the feel of the match had changed — Bayern weren’t trapping them inside their own half anymore.

Bayern tried to slow it down instead. Kimmich and Goretzka held the ball longer, Davies stayed high up the pitch, and Adriano kept drifting into pockets where Demien had to choose between following him and holding the center.

He didn’t chase him emotionally. He treated him like a dangerous opponent, because that’s exactly what he was tonight.

Their first proper duel came a few minutes later.

Adriano received with his back half-turned, expecting Demien to jump the challenge. Demien waited instead. Adriano tried to bounce the ball off Kane to escape the pressure, and Demien read the pass before it left his foot.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Fabio Cannavaro — Wall」

「ATTRIBUTE ACTIVE」 「Interceptions: 94」

He stepped in front of it clean and came away with the ball, launching United forward before Bayern’s shape had reset.

Adriano stopped for a second, exhaled through his nose, and gave a faint smile — the kind that said he respected the read even if he hated giving the ball up. Demien didn’t smile back. United were still losing.

The interception became the goal.

Demien carried the ball into the middle third, drawing Goretzka toward him, then threaded a pass between Upamecano and the recovering fullback into Højlund’s path.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Mesut Özil — Eye-of-Needle」

「TECHNIQUE ACTIVATED」 「Through-the-Lines Drive — EPIC」

Højlund timed the run properly this time, meeting the ball early before Ulreich could set his feet, and drove it low into the corner.

BAYERN MUNICH 3 — 2 MANCHESTER UNITED Rasmus Højlund 72’ Assist: Demien Walter

Højlund grabbed the ball out of the net instead of celebrating and sprinted it back to the center circle. Bruno was already shouting for everyone to get back to halfway. Demien just pointed forward and jogged into position.

United were alive. Nobody acted like it was over.

"He now has a free-kick goal and an assist tonight," the commentator said. "United’s best attacks are coming through Walter — but Bayern are still ahead, and still dangerous."

Bayern nearly killed it again straight after.

Adriano combined with Davies down the right, Davies overlapped, and the cutback found Musiala at the edge of the area. The shot was low and heading for the corner until Onana threw himself across and turned it behind.

Onana pushed himself up off the grass and screamed at the back line, not to blame them, but because the match had started slipping between chaos and control. Martínez slapped his own chest and told everyone to wake up. Casemiro pointed hard at the space where the second ball would drop.

United needed more than Demien to survive the night, and everyone on the pitch seemed to understand that at the same moment.

Ten Hag made his move from the touchline. Garnacho stripped his tracksuit top and jogged to the fourth official.

"Width. Run at them," Ten Hag said as Pellistri came off. "Demien, stay central."

United built the equalizer instead of chasing a miracle.

Demien slipped Rashford through first, but the shot was blocked. Then he tried one from range himself.

「TECHNIQUE ACTIVATED」 「Dipping Power Shot — EPIC」

「TRAIT ACTIVE」 「Long Shot Taker」

The shot dipped late and forced Ulreich into an awkward save, and the ball squirmed out for a corner.

Bayern cleared the first delivery badly. The second ball came back out to Demien, and Bayern stepped out too quickly, expecting United to recycle it backward. Instead Demien spotted Casemiro ghosting toward the back post.

Bruno drifted toward the ball like he might take it himself.

"Back post," Demien said.

Bruno peeled away without another word.

Demien whipped the delivery in — not a shot, a clipped ball that bent behind Bayern’s first line and dropped just over the last defender.

「TECHNIQUE ACTIVATED」 「Curling Free-Kick — EPIC」

「ATTRIBUTE ACTIVE」 「Curve: 99」

Casemiro attacked it with his whole body and got there before the defender could, driving the header down into the corner.

BAYERN MUNICH 3 — 3 MANCHESTER UNITED Casemiro 89’ Assist: Demien Walter

Casemiro roared first. Bruno grabbed him by the shoulders. Højlund screamed with both fists in the air. Garnacho sprinted for the corner flag. Demien backed away with one fist clenched, because there was still stoppage time left and this wasn’t finished.

Bayern’s players looked furious — they’d led by two goals and let it slip. Adriano stood near the halfway line with his hands on his hips, looking at Demien with an expression that needed no words.

Of course it was you.

「MATCH STATE UPDATE」

「Bayern Munich 3 — 3 Manchester United」 「Goal Contribution: Demien Walter — 1 Goal, 2 Assists」

The last minutes were dangerous both ways.

Bayern attacked first. Adriano received wide, cut inside, and tried to slide Kane through the middle. Demien tracked the angle and forced him to delay the pass a half-second, giving Martínez time to recover. Adriano still found Musiala on the second ball, but the shot flew straight at Onana and he held it.

United nearly won it right back.

Garnacho ran at a tired Bayern defender, cut inside off his left, and squared it to Rashford. The shot was blocked, and the rebound broke loose near Demien — but Kimmich threw himself across the lane a half-step before Demien could strike it clean, and the ball deflected out for a corner that never came to anything.

In the last real duel of the night, Demien and Adriano chased the same loose ball near the halfway line and arrived together, shoulder to shoulder. Neither pulled out of it. Demien held his ground on strength and balance. Adriano got there first on timing and poked it away for a throw.

Neither of them said anything. It didn’t need saying — they were equals in that duel, even if the scoreline told a different story tonight.

The referee blew for full time before either side could build one more attack.

FULL TIME: BAYERN MUNICH 3 — 3 MANCHESTER UNITED

United’s players stood scattered across the pitch, exhausted but not satisfied. Bayern’s players looked irritated, because they’d led by two goals and only had a draw to show for it.

Demien stood still with his hands on his hips, breathing hard, staring at the scoreboard.

The panel surfaced only after the whistle had gone.

「MATCH MISSION COMPLETE」

「Pressure-Release Actions: 5/5」 「Bayern Pressing Traps Identified: 3/3」 「Clear Chances Created: 1/1」 「Midfield Collapse Prevention: Complete」 「Bonus Objective: Complete」

「REWARD GRANTED: +90 MP」 「BONUS REWARD GRANTED: +10 SP」

Adriano walked over while both teams were still catching their breath, cameras finding them from every angle.

"Still annoying," Adriano said.

Demien breathed once, still looking at the scoreboard.

"You too."