My Ultimate Gacha System

Chapter 354 - 29: Carrington & Old Trafford II

Southgate’s whistle. "Demien—trigger is earlier. When you see the ball traveling to the fullback, you start moving. Don’t wait for them to receive it."

Second time: Ball went to Shaw. Demien triggered earlier, closed the space faster. Foden still received but his options were limited and he played it back to Stones under pressure. Better.

Third time: Ball to Shaw again. Demien pressed immediately, Foden received with Demien already on him, tried to turn, couldn’t. Lost possession. Successful press.

"Good," Southgate said. "That’s the timing."

Ten minutes passed and the whistle blew for the switch, and now Demien was in the first team playing as the eight alongside Phillips in the double pivot, and he had to receive under the North Macedonia-style press that he’d just been executing.

The first time he received from Stones the pressure arrived faster than Malta’s press had arrived, and two players closed him from different angles while the space compressed, and Press Resistant activated automatically but even with the trait working the room to operate was minimal, and he shielded the ball with his body while his first touch took it slightly away from the nearest presser and his second touch played it back to Stones because safe was better than ambitious when the press was this coordinated.

「TRAIT ACTIVE」

Press Resistant

Southgate didn’t blow the whistle, which meant acceptable, and the drill continued.

Second time he received: Ball came from Trippier on the right. Demien dropped deeper to create more space before the pass arrived, and when he received he had three yards instead of one, and his head came up while his first touch set the ball and he saw Kane making a run between the lines where North Macedonia’s defense was pushing up to squeeze space.

Vision stat at seventy-seven saw the pass, and his body weight shifted to play the through ball, and he struck it with his right foot trying to thread it between Maguire and Stones who were playing as North Macedonia’s center-backs, but the weight was slightly off and Maguire read it early enough to step across and intercept before Kane could reach it.

Southgate’s whistle cut through. "Demien—good recognition of Kane’s run. Execution needs to be sharper against this level of press. Their defenders read those passes. Need to disguise it better or wait for a clearer angle."

Demien nodded once and jogged back into position, and the feedback was fair because the pass existed in theory but the execution under pressure wasn’t clean enough, and against North Macedonia tomorrow that ball would be cut out the same way Maguire had just cut it out.

Third time receiving: Ball from Rice. Pressure immediate again. This time Demien used his body to shield properly while his first touch was heavier deliberately to create a half-yard of space, and instead of trying the ambitious pass he played into Saka’s feet wide where the winger had room to receive and turn, and the ball reached Saka cleanly and England kept possession and moved into North Macedonia’s half.

Successful.

The drill continued for twenty more minutes and by the end Demien’s understanding of the press had shifted from theoretical to practical, and he knew now where the triggers were and when they happened and where the space existed if you could find it, and his pass completion wasn’t perfect but the success rate climbed as the session went on because learning happened through repetition and correction, and Southgate’s feedback was consistent enough that the adjustments became automatic rather than conscious.

A translucent panel appeared at the edge of his vision while the drill was still running.

「DAILY TRAINING MISSION ACTIVATED」

「OBJECTIVE: Complete tactical session with 80%+ pass accuracy under pressure」

「BONUS: Successfully break North Macedonia pressing system 3 times」

「REWARD: +10 TP」

「BONUS REWARD: +5 TP」

He dismissed it mentally and focused on the next sequence.

10:30 AM — Small-Sided Game

The final thirty minutes shifted to competitive work and Southgate organized an eight-versus-eight game on half the pitch, and the intensity jumped immediately because this wasn’t drill work anymore but actual football where mistakes had consequences and quality mattered.

Demien’s team: Rice, Saka, Foden, Grealish, Trippier, Guehi, Dunk, himself.

Opposition: Henderson, Kane, Rashford, Alexander-Arnold, Shaw, Stones, Maguire, Walker.

The quality on both sides was Premier League starting eleven standard, and the game started fast with Rashford receiving wide and driving at Trippier immediately, and when Trippier won the ball cleanly and played it inside to Rice the game’s rhythm established itself as intense and technical rather than just physical.

Fifth minute: Demien received from Rice in the center circle and Henderson pressed him immediately with the positioning that came from playing at the elite level for years, and Press Resistant helped but Henderson’s angles were too good to simply shield past, and Demien’s body turned while the ball stayed close and his weight shifted onto his left foot while his right foot dragged the ball back and across his body in the specific pattern that activated the skill.

「SKILL ACTIVE」

Johan Cruyff — Turn Innovator

The turn created separation before Henderson could adjust and space opened for two seconds, and Demien’s head came up and he saw Saka wide right with Walker tracking him, and the pass went to Saka’s feet with the weight that let him take it in stride and drive at Walker one-on-one.

Saka’s footwork beat Walker and his cross came low across the six-yard box where Foden arrived late but his shot was blocked by Stones who had read the run and positioned himself correctly, and the ball deflected out for a corner that came to nothing.

Twelfth minute: Counter-attack. Ball broke loose at halfway after Guehi won a header and it landed at Demien’s feet with space ahead and North Macedonia’s defensive simulation showing the gap that existed when teams transitioned, and his first touch pushed the ball forward while his body accelerated and the sprint speed at ninety-six carried him into the attacking third faster than the recovery runs could match.

「STATS ACTIVE」

Acceleration: 95 | Sprint Speed: 96

Alexander-Arnold was tracking back and his defensive positioning was excellent because Liverpool’s right-back knew how to defend even when he was better known for attacking, and when Demien tried the Step-Over Combo to create space for a shot Alexander-Arnold read the first touch and stepped in to win the ball cleanly before the second part of the skill could develop.

Demien’s skill level was high but these were Premier League’s best defenders and they didn’t get beaten by skills they’d seen before unless the execution was perfect, and his execution under pressure at full speed wasn’t perfect yet.

Eighteenth minute: Saka won a corner after beating Shaw and forcing the ball out, and when the corner came in it was cleared to the edge of the box where Demien had positioned himself in the space that corners often cleared to, and the ball arrived at chest height with time to set himself.

His first touch brought it down cleanly and his second touch was the strike before the defense could close, and the Dipping Power Shot activated as his foot connected and the ball left with the trajectory that bent physics slightly because the technique put spin and power together in ways that made goalkeepers’ calculations wrong.

「SKILL ACTIVE」

Dipping Power Shot

The ball dipped viciously as it approached goal and Pickford in goal read it late but his reflexes were elite and he pushed it over the bar with his fingertips while his voice carried across the pitch immediately after.

"Fucking hell, that dips!" Pickford shouted, and the acknowledgment was genuine because even in training when a technique worked properly it deserved recognition, and Demien jogged back while the corner was set up knowing that Pickford’s save was excellent but the shot had been better.

Twenty-second minute: Demien received deep from Dunk and his head came up immediately because Vision at seventy-seven saw patterns before they fully developed, and Grealish was making the run in behind Stones and Maguire where the space existed for exactly three seconds if the pass went now rather than later.

The Pirlo skill activated without announcement and his body weight shifted onto his standing foot while his striking foot came through and the ball left with the weight and trajectory that came from understanding exactly where the receiver would be when it arrived rather than where they were when it was struck.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVE」

Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker

The pass threaded between Stones and Maguire with six inches of clearance on either side and arrived at Grealish’s feet exactly as his run took him into the space behind the defense, and Grealish’s first touch was clean and his shot came quickly but Pickford saved again with a dive that showed why he was England’s number one.

The game continued and finished at three-two with Demien’s team winning after Saka scored twice and Foden added one, and Demien hadn’t scored but he’d created the chance for Grealish and completed most of his passes and shown quality in the moments that mattered, and when Southgate’s whistle blew for the final time the squad gathered while breathing heavily and sweating properly because the game’s intensity had been real.

"Good session," Southgate said. "That’s the intensity we need tomorrow. North Macedonia will bring that level for ninety minutes. Be ready."

His eyes found Demien briefly. "Walter—better in the game than the drill. You’re learning quickly."

The panel appeared again while the squad started walking toward the changing rooms.

「DAILY TRAINING MISSION COMPLETE」

「Pass Accuracy: 87% (under pressure)」

「Pressing System Broken: 4 times」

「REWARDS: +10 TP」

「BONUS ACHIEVED: +5 TP」

「UPDATED BALANCE: 205 TP | 14 SP | 263 MP」