My Ultimate Gacha System

The main screen in Carrington’s analysis room sat frozen on Mauro Icardi standing between two center-backs inside the penalty area.

His body was turned away from goal.

His eyes were already looking over his shoulder toward the space behind the nearest defender.

Wilfried Zaha’s image waited in the next clip queue.

Lucas Torreira, Dries Mertens, Sacha Boey, and Fernando Muslera sat listed on the tactical sheet beside the screen.

Demien filed in with the other players after the 5–2 win over Palace, his legs registering the ninety minutes the moment he lowered himself into the chair.

The satisfaction from two goals and three assists still showed, though, in the grin he traded with Højlund and Bruno before Ten Hag dimmed the lights.

Nobody got to spend long celebrating Palace.

Ten Hag pressed the remote and played Icardi’s movement immediately.

The clip showed Icardi starting beside one center-back, taking two slow steps away from the ball, then accelerating into the blind side the instant the defender turned toward the crosser.

Ten Hag paused the video at the exact frame where the gap opened.

He pointed at the defender’s head position. "He does not need five chances. If you look at the ball and lose him once, it is enough."

He moved to Zaha’s recent goal against Ankaragücü.

The winger received near the left side of the box, slipped between two defenders, kept the ball alive through contact, and finished into the roof of the net.

Galatasaray had arrived in Manchester unbeaten domestically, Zaha scoring in their final league match before travel, and the squad list beside the screen carried Icardi, Zaha, Mertens, Torreira, Boey, Davinson Sánchez, Angeliño, and Muslera, with Hakim Ziyech absent from the travelling party.

Demien watched differently when Zaha appeared on screen.

He knew the winger’s Premier League reputation and his history at United well enough already, so he let his eyes follow the mechanics instead — the shoulder used to shield the ball before the acceleration.

Then he glanced toward Dalot, working out which of United’s defenders would likely face him.

The board beside the screen laid out Group A plainly.

United had drawn 3–3 with Bayern in their opener, and Galatasaray had drawn 2–2 with Copenhagen, which meant all four clubs in the group sat level on one point.

Tonight’s home game was an opportunity to seize control of the group, not a rescue mission.

The session continued with Galatasaray’s Champions League opener against Copenhagen.

Ten Hag played the final phase, where Galatasaray had refused to accept a 2–0 deficit.

Boey attacked from deep, Galatasaray forced Copenhagen backward under sustained pressure, and two late goals turned a losing scoreline into a 2–2 draw.

Bruno leaned forward as the second late goal played. "They don’t stop when the game goes against them."

Ten Hag answered without looking away from the screen. "Then we do not give them a way back."

He moved to Torreira’s pressing clips next.

The Uruguayan waited behind Galatasaray’s first presser, then attacked the receiver’s first touch rather than chasing the original pass.

Ten Hag paused the footage the moment Torreira closed a midfielder from the blind side and won the ball clean.

He pointed directly at Demien’s position on the tactical board. "When the pass comes here, Torreira goes. The next player closes behind him. You receive closed, they trap you."

Demien answered instead of just nodding. "Then the pass has to come before he reaches the lane."

Ten Hag shifted Demien’s marker two yards deeper, next to Casemiro’s. "Or you move him first."

Demien took the correction seriously.

His eyes traced the empty space behind Torreira’s marker on the board, then flicked to Bruno’s position higher up.

Ten Hag moved to Boey’s attacking clips.

The right-back began level with Galatasaray’s defenders, accelerated beyond the winger, and arrived high enough to force the opposing wide player all the way back into his own half.

Angeliño did something similar on the opposite flank a moment later.

Ten Hag laid out the instruction directly. "Rashford and the right winger cannot watch them run. If their fullbacks pass you, we defend with six and cannot leave. Follow first. Counter after we recover."

Demien noticed the other side of it.

When Boey pushed forward, the space he left behind became available the instant United won the ball back quickly.

He caught Rashford’s eye and pointed discreetly toward the same channel on the screen.

Rashford understood and gave a small nod back.

Ten Hag shifted to Galatasaray’s central buildup.

Davinson Sánchez carried forward when unpressed, Torreira dropped beside him to offer an outlet, Mertens moved into the pocket behind United’s midfield, and Icardi stayed high enough that neither center-back could afford to step out and follow him.

Ten Hag froze the clip the moment Mertens received between the lines. "Casemiro cannot defend both. One of the eights must recover inside."

He looked at Demien and Bruno together rather than singling either one out.

Demien straightened in his chair and stopped leaning back, because the defensive responsibility had just attached itself directly to his role.

Carrington’s recovery area hummed at its usual low pitch — stationary bikes facing the glass wall, massage tables prepared beside equipment carts, compression sleeves and resistance bands laid out, recovery drinks lined along the counter.

Full-match starters moved noticeably slower than the substitutes around them.

「DAILY TRAINING MISSION ACTIVATED」 「MISSION: Post-Palace Recovery」 「Complete 20 minutes controlled cycling」 「Complete full lower-body mobility protocol」 「Complete 100 light technical touches」 「Review 10 Galatasaray tactical clips」 「Reward: +8 TP」 「Bonus Objective: Finish with fatigue below 15%」 「Bonus Reward: +5 MP」

Demien settled onto the bike and let the mission fade into the back of his attention.

His breathing stayed controlled while the resistance shifted every few minutes.

Sweat gathered slowly despite the low intensity.

His thighs felt heavier each time the staff nudged the resistance dial up, but he didn’t turn any of it into a competition with himself.

Højlund, pedaling on the bike beside him, brought up the Palace scoreline without warning. "You could have passed me one more."

Demien glanced sideways. "You scored."

"One."

"You missed the others."

Højlund laughed and called him greedy, despite Demien finishing with three assists to his name.

Demien argued back rather than answering with a flat smile, and the two of them kept at it through the rest of the interval set.

The mobility work came next.

Demien worked through ankle rotations, hip-opening stretches, hamstring movements, and resistance-band exercises in sequence.

A physio checked the contact points from the Palace match and asked whether any movement produced sharp pain.

"Nothing sharp," Demien said. "Just heavy."

The physio pressed one sore spot again, watched his face tighten, and told him not to hide tenderness because it changed the recovery plan.

Demien admitted the spot hurt under pressure rather than pretending his body had come through untouched.

The technical portion closed the session.

A coach fed bouncing and spinning passes from different angles while Demien alternated feet, cushioned the ball into a marked square, and returned it without a second settling touch.

Between sets, he replayed Galatasaray clips on a tablet propped against the equipment cart — Torreira leaving his zone to press, Boey pushing beyond the winger.

He didn’t scroll through Palace praise once during the whole session.

「DAILY TRAINING MISSION COMPLETE」 「Controlled Cycling: 20/20 Minutes」 「Mobility Protocol: Complete」 「Technical Touches: 100/100」 「Tactical Clips Reviewed: 10/10」 「Fatigue: 13%」 「Reward: +8 TP」 「Bonus Reward: +5 MP」