My Ultimate Gacha System

Demien anticipated it, stepped ahead of Schlupp, and won the ball clean before the Palace midfielder could turn.

「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Ball Winner」 「STATS ACTIVE」 「Interceptions: 94 | Reactions: 99 | Aggression: 98」

He released Rashford toward the left wing immediately and kept running rather than staying behind the ball.

Rashford drove at Mitchell.

Højlund moved between Andersen and Guéhi, dragging both centre-backs toward the six-yard box.

Bruno pushed to the top of the box, pulling Doucouré’s recovery run with him.

Demien delayed his own run outside the area, then accelerated into the space Bruno and Højlund had just opened up.

Rashford reached the box and looked toward Højlund as though he meant to cross.

Instead, he cut the ball back toward the penalty spot.

Demien arrived onto it without breaking stride.

He opened his body and struck first time toward the opposite bottom corner before Johnstone could shift his weight across goal.

「STATS ACTIVE」 「Reactions: 99 | Finishing: 99 | Composure: 99」

Manchester United 5 — 2 Crystal Palace Demien Walter 79’ (Assist: Marcus Rashford)

Demien turned toward Rashford immediately, pointing at him for the cutback, and ran into his arms before the rest of the team could catch up.

He broke away from the group afterward and faced the Stretford End, pumping one fist into the air and letting himself enjoy the noise rather than lowering his head straight away.

「MATCH MISSION PROGRESS」 「Direct Goal Contributions: 5/2」

"That’s not a system handing him a goal," the commentator said. "He wins the ball, releases Rashford, keeps running, reads how Højlund and Bruno pull the defense apart, and finishes the cutback himself."

Palace didn’t vanish from the match at 5–2.

Around the eighty-second minute, Eze received near the edge of United’s box, drew one defender, and slipped Mateta into the left side.

Mateta turned sharply and shot toward the near post.

Onana got both hands behind it and pushed it away, and Schlupp drove the rebound wide under pressure.

Ten Hag stepped beyond his technical area, furious that Palace had created another clean look at goal, pointing toward the gap between midfield and defense and ordering United to close the match out properly.

Around the eighty-fifth minute, with the score settled and Galatasaray three days away, Ten Hag prepared Demien’s substitution.

The fourth official raised his number.

Demien looked toward the scoreboard first, then back at the pitch as though he wanted one more attack, his mouth tightening briefly before he started jogging toward the touchline.

Old Trafford rose for him, the applause climbing louder as the broadcast graphic listed his two goals and three assists.

He let it affect him openly, smiling, applauding the crowd above his head, then pointing toward Højlund, Bruno, and Rashford before he left the pitch, because they’d finished what he’d created.

Ten Hag gave him a firm handshake and told him plainly he’d done enough.

Demien answered with a satisfied breath and sat down beside the staff rather than reacting coldly to any of it.

DEMIEN WALTER 2 GOALS | 3 ASSISTS | FIVE DIRECT GOAL CONTRIBUTIONS

United turned conservative once he was off.

Casemiro sat deeper.

Bruno stopped making unnecessary forward runs.

The substitutes recycled possession through the fullbacks while Palace’s press ran out of energy entirely.

The referee blew for full time.

Manchester United 5 — 2 Crystal Palace

Demien was up off the bench before the whistle had finished sounding, walking onto the pitch with a wide smile, heading for Rashford first, then Højlund and Bruno.

Højlund complained that Demien had finished with more assists than the striker had goals.

Rashford reminded Demien that his own fifth goal only existed because of the cutback.

"I started the move," Demien said, defending himself, and the three of them kept at it all the way back toward the center circle.

Palace’s players gathered differently around their own half.

Andersen brought his defenders in near the center circle.

Eze walked toward the away section.

Johnstone got quiet acknowledgment from his teammates, several saves having kept the score from getting worse than it already was.

The Player of the Match presentation waited near the broadcast area, a sponsor wall lit by pitchside lights, a handheld microphone ready, the stadium noise still echoing behind it, the award placed into Demien’s hands.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH — DEMIEN WALTER Goals: 2 | Assists: 3 | Chances Created: 6 Ball Recoveries: 4 | Successful Dribbles: 4/4 | Pass Completion: 92%

Demien looked at the numbers and couldn’t fully suppress a pleased smile.

The interviewer noticed it and pointed out, smiling herself, that he usually tried to look less impressed with his own performances.

Her first question focused on Palace’s goal to make it 3–2.

Demien explained plainly that United had gotten careless with the ball and angry after conceding, though the goal had also forced Palace higher up the pitch and opened space of its own.

The second question turned to his five goal contributions.

He credited the movement of Højlund, Bruno, and Rashford, but he didn’t pretend the night meant nothing to him personally. "Two goals, three assists. It feels good," he admitted.

The third question asked which contribution he preferred.

He chose the fifth goal, walking through it — winning the ball, releasing Rashford, continuing his run, then arriving for the cutback — because the whole move mattered to him more than just the finish.

The fourth question mentioned Galatasaray arriving on Tuesday.

Demien acknowledged the short turnaround and said he was looking forward to his first Champions League night at Old Trafford, his expression shifting as he said it, something the cameras caught clearly enough for anyone watching to notice.

Ten Hag’s press conference room sat low-ceilinged, a sponsor board behind him, microphones and phones crowding the table, journalists typing as he walked in with his match notes still in hand.

The first question covered the five goals and Demien’s five contributions.

Ten Hag praised his finishing, his passing, and his work in transition, noting specifically that his positioning had improved after Palace’s equalizer rather than getting worse under pressure.

The next question asked why Demien had come off around the eighty-fifth minute.

"The match was controlled. He had already played a very high-output game, and we have Galatasaray in three days," Ten Hag said, and the reporter didn’t push toward any suggestion of resting him, since nobody in the building had said that.

The next question turned to conceding twice.

Ten Hag’s expression hardened before he answered. "Five goals do not excuse losing control of the game twice. Not with Icardi and Galatasaray coming next."

Back in the dressing room, Demien sat with the Player of the Match award near his bag while teammates moved through the showers and reached for recovery drinks.

His phone had filled with messages, but Sophia’s name caught his attention first.

She’d sent a short voice note teasing him about finally admitting, in public, that he’d enjoyed his own performance.

He recorded his reply immediately rather than typing two dry words back. "I enjoyed it," he said, then added, "the two we conceded still annoy me, though."

Hearing how serious he sounded, he laughed and recorded a few more words before sending it.

「MATCH MISSION COMPLETE」 「Clear Chances Created: 6/3」 「Line-Breaking Actions: 8/4」 「Ball Recoveries: 4/3」 「Direct Goal Contributions: 5/2」 「Bonus Objective — Lead at Halftime: Complete」 「Reward: +60 MP」 「Bonus Reward: +5 TP」

Sunday morning, October 1st, the lights in Carrington’s analysis room dimmed again.

Players settled into their seats with notebooks and recovery bottles.

Ten Hag stood beside the control desk.

The main screen was already paused on Mauro Icardi, positioned between two defenders inside the penalty area.

Demien sat beside Bruno and Højlund, his Player of the Match performance nowhere on the screen anymore.

Ten Hag started the clip.

Icardi waited until the nearest defender turned his head toward the ball, then accelerated behind him and finished with one touch.

Ten Hag paused the video at the instant the defender lost him.

"He only needs you to look away once."