"Everything changes if he gets this space."
Ten Hag didn’t stay on Haaland.
He rewound the clip several seconds and let it play again.
Stones stepped forward out of City’s defensive line toward Rodri.
Bernardo drifted into the right half-space.
Álvarez dropped underneath Haaland.
Foden came inside from the opposite flank.
Grealish stayed wide, holding the fullback’s attention just long enough to keep him from narrowing.
Haaland himself barely moved, staying pinned between the center-backs rather than dropping to collect it himself.
Ten Hag moved the pointer from Stones to Rodri, then traced a line from Bernardo and Álvarez toward Haaland.
"If our midfielders chase the first man too hard, the next one appears behind them," he said. "If the center-backs step out to fix that, this is the space he gets. It’s never just about him."
Demien kept his eyes on Rodri while Højlund and McTominay watched Haaland’s positioning beside him.
That was the difference in how he read it.
Ten Hag switched the screen to United’s own shape.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Onana.
Dalot — Maguire — Evans — Lindelöf.
Amrabat — Demien.
Bruno — McTominay.
Rashford.
"Sofyan starts more conservative," Ten Hag said. "Demien, you have permission to move beyond the first press once we’ve escaped it — not before. Scott starts higher, he can occupy Rodri and attack the box. Bruno starts right but comes central once we’ve controlled it. Marcus is our outlet behind their line. Rasmus, you occupy Dias and whoever partners him."
He looked at Demien directly. "You are not following Haaland around this pitch. Harry and Jonny deal with where he stands. Sofyan protects the first central route. Your job is everything that happens before the ball reaches him — Rodri’s second pass, Bernardo receiving behind our midfield, Álvarez dropping between lines, the loose ball after we stop the first attack."
"What if Stones steps in beside Rodri and they build with two pivots?" Demien asked.
Ten Hag moved McTominay’s marker toward Stones. "Scott can jump to Stones. You stay connected to Bernardo and protect the central transition lane. If you abandon that space to chase both of them, they play straight through the gap you leave."
Casemiro was still not fully right after the international break, and City would be without De Bruyne and the suspended Akanji — neither absence changed anything about the plan on the board.
「DERBY PREPARATION MISSION ACTIVATED」 「MISSION: Break City’s Control」 「Complete 6 Counterpress Escapes」 「Create 4 Transition Entries」 「Recover 4 Central Second Balls」 「Allow No More Than 1 Central Turnover」 「Reward: +30 TP」 「Bonus Objective: Create 2 Attacks Behind City’s Advanced Line」 「Bonus Reward: +10 MP」
Wednesday’s simulation group was set up to move like City — one center-back stepping into midfield the way Stones did, a holding midfielder standing in for Rodri, two attacking players rotating between the lines, a lone striker pinned high against Maguire and Evans, the wide players staying broad until the ball entered the final third.
First repetition — the simulated Stones stepped forward beside the simulated Rodri.
McTominay hesitated over who to close.
Demien saw Rodri receiving and jumped too aggressively, wanting to kill the pass before it happened.
Rodri gave it around him.
The simulated Bernardo received in the exact space Demien had abandoned.
Amrabat stepped toward Bernardo.
The simulated Álvarez moved in behind him.
Maguire had to step up.
The striker attacked the channel Maguire vacated, received the final ball, and forced a save.
Ten Hag stopped it.
"The mistake wasn’t pressing Rodri," he said, pointing at the angle Demien had taken. "You came straight at him. That told him exactly which side you’d left open. Approach on an angle that looks like you’re allowing one pass — but keep your body ready to attack the receiver."
Restart.
Rodri received again.
Demien approached from his left shoulder this time, not straight ahead.
Rodri, believing Bernardo was free, played it there.
Demien turned before Bernardo’s first touch and attacked the lane.
「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Ball Winner」 「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「N’Golo Kanté — Everywhere at Once」 「STATS ACTIVE」 「Reactions: 99 | Interceptions: 94 | Acceleration: 99」
He won it clean.
City’s counterpress activated instantly, two players closing from different angles.
Demien took the first contact on his shoulder, kept his balance, and rolled away from the nearest presser.
「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Press Resistant」 「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Johan Cruyff — Turn Innovator」
He released Amrabat before the simulated Rodri could close him down and kept moving beyond the first pressure.
Amrabat returned it into his stride.
Demien looked left — Rashford was already breaking behind the advanced fullback.
He sent the diagonal before the defensive line could turn.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Paul Pogba — Long Switch Flair」
Rashford reached the space, but the simulated Walker recovered fast enough to block the low cross.
「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Counterpress Escapes: 1/6」 「Transition Entries: 1/4」 「Attacks Behind Advanced Line: 1/2」
Ten Hag let play continue without a word of praise.
That execution was the standard, not the exception.
Another City possession — the Haaland-role striker won a high ball with Maguire on his back, Evans arriving for the second contact, neither winning it cleanly.
The ball dropped toward the simulated Álvarez twenty yards out.
Demien had stayed underneath the duel rather than joining Maguire, and he arrived shoulder-to-shoulder with Álvarez as it fell.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Marcel Desailly — The Rock」
He used his strength to move across the attacker, controlled it instead of clearing, and played straight to Bruno.
Bruno tried to release Højlund, but the simulated Dias cut it out.
「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Central Second Balls Recovered: 1/4」
The counterpress rehearsal came next, Dalot finding Demien with a City winger closing the outside lane and Bernardo’s simulated marker attacking from inside, Rodri covering the forward route toward McTominay.
Demien tried to turn between both pressers.
The second one got a foot to it.
City countered straight through the center, and Amrabat fouled the runner just outside the box to stop it.
「MISSION WARNING」 「Central Turnovers: 1/1」 「One Additional Central Turnover Will Fail Bonus Control Condition」
Demien asked for the ball back immediately.
Ten Hag refused the quick restart. "Your control doesn’t mean you have to beat every two-man press by yourself," he said. "Third man. Use it."
Restart.
Dalot found Demien.
The first presser closed.
Demien cushioned it first time to Amrabat and immediately ran outside the second presser.
Amrabat found McTominay.
McTominay laid it into Demien’s run.
Three passes had cleared the counterpress without Demien dribbling anyone.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker」 「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Counterpress Escapes: 2/6」
He released Højlund early into the channel, and Højlund got the shot away before the simulated center-back arrived, though the goalkeeper saved it.
The rest of Wednesday’s repetitions ran quicker — Demien escaping a press from Evans by bouncing it through Amrabat and attacking the return, recovering a second ball after Maguire’s duel with the striker, releasing Rashford once Rodri got dragged toward Bruno, and once deliberately recycling possession when City left no transition route at all, choosing patience over forcing something that wasn’t there.
「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Counterpress Escapes: 4/6」 「Transition Entries: 3/4」 「Central Second Balls Recovered: 3/4」
The session closed with the simulated Grealish holding width, Dalot unable to narrow fully, Bernardo receiving inside, Demien tracking him, the ball going back out, the cross coming in toward the Haaland-role runner.
Maguire won the first contact.
The clearance dropped toward Rodri.
Demien read it and stepped ahead of him.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Fabio Cannavaro — Wall」
He blocked Rodri’s first touch and carried it clear of the immediate danger, then played one controlled pass to Rashford rather than force a long diagonal into City’s organized rest defense.
「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Central Second Balls Recovered: 4/4」
The mission stayed unfinished for the day.
Thursday, October 26th, and Carrington’s screens were already running derby programming before the squad had finished breakfast.
MANCHESTER DERBY — THREE DAYS
HAALAND vs WALTER
CITY’S TREBLE MACHINE vs UNITED’S NEW STAR
OLD TRAFFORD SUNDAY — PARIS MONDAY
"Comparing a midfielder to Haaland is mostly media packaging," one pundit said. "Their jobs aren’t remotely the same."
"It’s inevitable, though," another answered. "Two global young stars, both Ballon d’Or nominees, and Walter arrives off the biggest week of his career."
"Haaland’s résumé still speaks for itself," a third said. "City are the reigning treble winners. Let’s not lose sight of that."
"And none of it decides the Ballon d’Or," a fourth cut in. "Sunday can shift the public narrative going into Monday night. It cannot rewrite the season that’s already being honored."
Demien watched only long enough to fix his recovery drink.
"Television’s put you in charge of solving him now, apparently," Højlund said, appearing beside him.
"He plays striker," Demien said.
"Television doesn’t seem too concerned with positions," Højlund said.
"Television doesn’t have to defend him," Demien said.
Thursday’s session ran lighter, focused on transition entries.
City’s simulated side attacked with numbers.
United recovered through Amrabat.
Demien checked Rodri’s position before Rashford’s — Rodri was covering the left lane, so Demien attacked the opposite channel through Bruno, who released Højlund, who dragged the center-back wide, letting Rashford receive the second pass and enter the box clean.
「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Transition Entries: 4/4」
The final counterpress escape came off Maguire, the first presser arriving fast, Demien touching it to Dalot, Dalot finding McTominay, Demien continuing his run and McTominay releasing him behind the first line.
「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Press Resistant」 「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Counterpress Escapes: 5/6」
The last repetition began with Bruno losing the ball near the simulated penalty area, Rodri looking to release the winger immediately.
Demien read it and intercepted before the transition could launch.
Rather than attack straight away with United’s structure broken, he slowed the next possession down.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Toni Kroos — Metronome」
Once Amrabat and the fullbacks reset, he accelerated it again through Bruno.
「MISSION PROGRESS」 「Counterpress Escapes: 6/6」
「DERBY PREPARATION MISSION COMPLETE」 「Counterpress Escapes: 6/6」 「Transition Entries: 4/4」 「Central Second Balls Recovered: 4/4」 「Central Turnovers: 1」 「Attacks Behind Advanced Line: 2/2」 「Reward: +30 TP」 「Bonus Reward: +10 MP」
Marco called Thursday evening.
"Paris is confirmed," he said. "Your attendance is locked, we’re coordinating travel with the club since it’s the day after the derby, Isabella’s details are submitted, Sophia’s are accepted too. Formalwear and media timing are being finalized now."
Demien felt something loosen in his chest at Sophia’s name being confirmed properly.
"What time would we need to leave after the derby?" he asked. "Does club recovery affect any of it?"
"Being coordinated," Marco said. "I’ll have it locked by Saturday."
Sunday came first. Everything else could wait.
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