Chapter 530 140 — First Place III

In the first block, the reserves produced the exact movement that had caught him out earlier.

The reserve Kane dropped.

Demien checked behind him first.

Mainoo had already shifted across.

Demien stepped.

The reserve Kane laid it off first time. The reserve Musiala moved into the space Demien had vacated.

Mainoo was already standing in it.

He stepped in front of the pass and nicked the ball away.

「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Central Handovers: 5/5 — COMPLETE」

Demien was already looking forward.

The reserve Davies was high up the pitch. Garnacho was starting his run behind him.

Demien hit the switch.

「Switches Behind Advanced Fullback: 4/4 — COMPLETE」

Garnacho drove toward goal, but his final ball was cut out by a covering defender. The reserves cleared. The ball went back through their goalkeeper, and play carried on without anyone stopping to mark the moment.

A little later, he beat the reserves' first press with a quick one-two with Bruno rather than taking anyone on alone.

「Press Escapes: 6/6 — COMPLETE」

And a few minutes after that, another United recovery let him turn and start the fourth attack after possession changed hands.

「Progressive Actions After Recovery: 4/4 — COMPLETE」

Every number was done.

The session kept going. There was still work to do.

It wasn't only Demien.

Mainoo made one interception that Demien was nowhere near reaching. Bruno spotted the right moment to press, jumped at a reserve center-back, and forced the whole reserve team backward. Garnacho sprinted back forty yards to track the advancing fullback on one defensive phase. Maguire rose above the reserve Kane and won a header he had no business winning. Højlund pinned both reserve center-backs so hard on one move that Demien's switch only existed because of him.

The system counted Demien's actions. The football needed all eleven.

Near the end, the reserves produced the most dangerous move of the day.

The reserve Musiala received between the lines, even though United's shape was correct, and turned. At the same moment, the reserve Kane moved away from goal rather than toward it, and Varane went with him.

That left a gap in behind.

The reserve Sané was already sprinting into it.

Demien saw the run and knew immediately he was too far away to stop it.

"Diogo! Runner! Behind you!"

Dalot turned and sprinted. He got close enough to force the winger wide. The shot came from a tight angle, and the keeper pushed it away.

Demien stopped running and looked at the gap where the pass had gone.

That's it. That's the one.

Bayern only need to do that properly once tomorrow. Once.

Some of the most important things I do won't be with the ball. They'll be standing in the right place so that pass never exists in the first place.

The session only finished when the staff blew for the end of the scheduled phase.

Players bent over with hands on knees, breath steaming in the cold. Staff moved around collecting balls and bibs. Boots had churned darker patches into the wet grass where the midfield battles had been. The coaches started calling players toward the cooldown area, group by group.

Only then did the system appear.

「CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREPARATION MISSION COMPLETE」 「Full Tactical Session: COMPLETE」 「Press Escapes: 6/6」 「Central Handovers: 5/5」 「Progressive Actions After Recovery: 4/4」 「Switches Behind Advanced Fullback: 4/4」 「Central Turnovers: 1/1 Maximum」 「Repeated Positioning Correction: 0」 「Reward: +15 TP」 「Bonus Reward: +15 MP」

No attribute increase. No new skill. Just the work, counted.

Ten Hag held his press conference that afternoon. Demien didn't go. He only heard a line of it later, when a clip played on one of the screens in the canteen.

"We need to be at our highest level," Ten Hag was saying to the room of journalists. "Against Bayern, nothing less works."

Inside the squad, the picture was clearer than anything he'd said to the press.

The staff had pinned the expected Bayern side on the board: Neuer. Upamecano, Kim. Davies on the left. Kimmich and Goretzka in midfield. Musiala. Sané and Coman wide. Kane up front, though "up front" meant almost nothing with him.

Nobody needed to wonder whether Demien was starting. That had never been in doubt.

The only question was who'd be next to him.

Late in the afternoon, Ten Hag answered it.

"Kobbie starts with Demien," he told the group. "Bruno ahead. Scott, I want you ready for the second half. If we need a goal, you're the one I'm bringing on."

McTominay nodded. "Fine by me."

Demien wasn't surprised.

Two players who can take the ball under pressure. That's what Bayern are going to test more than anything. If they press one of us, the other one's free.

But it means something for me too.

With Kobbie there, Scott's runs aren't there. Somebody has to break forward and attack their deep midfield when the moment comes.

That's me.

He got home that evening with the cold still in his hands.

He stood under a hot shower for longer than he needed to, ate a proper dinner — chicken, rice, vegetables, all of it measured out by the nutrition team — and went through his normal recovery routine on the living room floor.

His phone was full of Tuesday.

BAYERN ARRIVE WOUNDED

UNITED CATCH GERMAN GIANTS AT PERFECT TIME

FIVE-GOAL FRANKFURT HAMMERING — CAN UNITED PILE ON THE MISERY?

He read the headlines and didn't believe a word of them.

I've just spent six hours watching this team move.

Frankfurt didn't take Kane off them. Or Musiala. Or Kimmich, Sané, Coman.

The dangerous thought isn't that Bayern are good. Everyone knows they're good.

The dangerous thought is that tomorrow's going to be easier because of Saturday.

Marco sent one message: All quiet this week. Nothing booked. Good luck.

Sophia called for a few minutes while he was stretching. She'd been stuck at work late sorting out a mess someone else had made, and she told him about it in a voice that was half exhausted and half entertained.

"What time's your match tomorrow?" she asked eventually.

"Eight."

"I'll be home by then. Probably."

"Probably?"

"There's a pile of files on my desk that says otherwise," she said. "I'll try."

That was all. She didn't tell him he'd win. He liked that she didn't.

He checked the matchday instructions once, then put the phone face-down on the table and left the football alone.

Tuesday, December 12th, Old Trafford.

By the time the team bus crawled up Sir Matt Busby Way, the Manchester sky was already black. The air was cold enough to sting. The floodlights had been on for an hour, turning the damp pitch a bright, almost unreal green. Champions League branding covered every surface — the starball on the hoardings, the banners on the approaches, the logo painted in the center circle. Supporters were already packed along the approach roads, scarves up around their chins.

In the dressing room, the tactical board confirmed both sides.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Onana.

Dalot — Varane — Maguire — Reguilón.

Demien — Mainoo.

Antony — Bruno — Garnacho.

Højlund.

BAYERN MUNICH

Kimmich and Goretzka sitting beneath Musiala. Sané and Coman wide. Kane forward — and an arrow drawn from his name back toward midfield, because everyone in the room knew he wouldn't stay up there.

Ten Hag's last words sounded familiar. That was the point.

"Don't chase Kane unless someone's behind you. Don't let Musiala turn. If their fullback goes high and we win it, look straight at the other side. And if the counter isn't really there—"

"Keep the ball," several voices said together.

"Keep the ball," Ten Hag said.

Warm-up was ordinary. Demien pressed his studs into the pitch and felt how quickly the wet surface would move the ball. He knocked short passes back and forth with Mainoo and Bruno, a gentle rhythm, getting the feel of it.

At the other end, Bayern's attacking players were running through their own drills. Kane striking balls into the top corner. Musiala dancing through a line of mannequins. Sané and Coman sprinting down each flank.

Demien watched them for a few seconds.

This isn't the first time anymore.

I know what they can do.

And they know what I can do. They've got footage of me too. They'll have watched Istanbul. They'll have watched Chelsea.

Nobody's surprising anybody tonight.

Back inside, the Champions League anthem began faintly beyond the walls, muffled by the concrete.

The system activated.

「UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH MISSION ACTIVATED」 「Manchester United vs Bayern Munich」

Then nothing more. Not yet.

The tunnel call came.

Demien stood up.

One point separated the two teams at the top of the group. United were already through. Bayern were already through. Nobody was playing to survive tonight.

They were playing for first place.

In the tunnel, Harry Kane stood at the front of Bayern's line. Behind him waited Musiala, Kimmich, Sané, Coman.

Demien glanced once at Mainoo beside him. Mainoo gave him the smallest nod back.

Then Demien looked toward the pitch as the doors began to open.

Win the match. Win the group.