My Ultimate Gacha System-Chapter 325 - 312: Road to champions league I

Stadio Luigi Ferraris Pitch 6:01 PM

The stadium was full and the sound came down hard from the steep stands while both teams walked out through the tunnel and the home section received Genoa’s squad with sustained noise that bounced off the roof and amplified across the enclosed space, and the Atalanta section in the upper tier answered with their own chant that cut through the home noise cleanly enough to be heard on the pitch.

The referee placed the ball at the center circle and both captains exchanged handshakes before returning to their positions.

Fweeeeeetttttttt!!!!!

1’ - 11’ |

Genoa pressed immediately and their front three closed Atalanta’s center-backs from the first whistle, forcing the ball wide to the right flank where Hateboer collected under pressure from their left wingback who had tracked the pass aggressively.

Hateboer knocked it back to Tolói who took one touch before switching long to Mæhle on the left, and the diagonal bypassed Genoa’s press entirely and landed in space where Mæhle controlled before playing it forward into the channel toward Lookman’s run.

Lookman collected near the byline and turned quickly before cutting inside onto his right foot, but Genoa’s right center-back had tracked the run and positioned himself well, and the angle for the cross was blocked so Lookman played it square to Koopmeiners who recycled the ball back to De Roon and the shape reset.

In the tenth minute Genoa’s press dropped two lines because the effort wasn’t producing turnovers, and Atalanta’s circulation began to control tempo as the ball moved between De Roon, Ederson, and Demien through the central third without Genoa being able to press with the same intensity as the opening exchanges.

Commentary Booth

"Atalanta settling into the match now after a frantic opening from the home side," the lead commentator observed. "Genoa’s press was aggressive early but it’s costing them physically and Atalanta have been smart enough to play around it rather than through it."

"That’s the discipline Gasperini demands," his colleague added. "When the press comes, you recycle, you absorb, you wait. The moment will arrive."

11’ - 23’ |

The tempo fell into a controlled rhythm with Atalanta holding sixty percent possession and Genoa sitting in their 3-5-2 block with both wingbacks dropped to create a compact defensive structure that denied space centrally.

Demien received between the lines in the sixteenth minute and immediately played it wide before moving to the next angle where he could receive again, and the ball went through Lookman to Scamacca who held it briefly before releasing to Hateboer overlapping on the right.

Hateboer’s cross was good but overhit slightly and Scamacca arrived a half-yard too late, and the ball ran through the six-yard box for a goal kick.

In the twenty-second minute De Roon won a contested ball in midfield and the clearance fell to Ederson in space near the center circle, and his first touch set the ball forward immediately while Demien had already begun his run in behind Genoa’s right wingback who had pushed up thirty seconds earlier.

23’ |

Ederson’s pass was timed precisely — not too early that the run would be offside, not too late that the angle would close — and it arrived as a perfectly weighted through ball between Genoa’s wingback and their right center-back where the gap was exactly wide enough.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker

Demien took one touch to control and another to set his feet, and Lookman had read the sequence and was already moving across the face of the box to the left, his run pulling both center-backs toward him while the near post opened.

Demien didn’t look at the goalkeeper. His second touch rolled the ball forward into Lookman’s path with the exact weight that allowed one touch and a finish rather than control and a finish, and Lookman’s first touch directed it low inside the near post before Genoa’s goalkeeper could set his feet.

The net moved.

GOAL: GENOA 0-1 ATALANTA (23’)

The upper tier erupted and the blue-and-black flags came up as one across the away section, and the noise the away supporters produced in the compressed space of the upper stand was disproportionate to their number and carried across the entire stadium.

Lookman jogged back toward the halfway line without sprinting to the corner, and Demien clapped once toward the Atalanta section while Ederson fell into step beside him.

"Good," Ederson said.

"Keep the shape," Demien replied, and they jogged back into position together.

Commentary Booth

"Atalanta take the lead and it’s a goal built on patience," the lead commentator said while the replay loaded. "Ederson with the incisive through ball, and Lookman finishes without hesitation. Clinical."

"Look at the build-up before the pass," his colleague noted as the replay showed the sequence from the wide angle. "Atalanta circulate for ninety seconds, drawing Genoa’s block toward the ball, and when the gap opens Ederson finds it immediately. That’s collective understanding — every player knowing the next action before the ball arrives."

24’ - 41’ |

Genoa responded with urgency because a goal down against a Champions League-chasing side with their relegation situation left no margin for caution, and their wingbacks pushed higher while their front two pressed more aggressively from the top.

In the thirty-fourth minute Atalanta’s defensive line was caught slightly high and Genoa won the ball in midfield before launching a quick transition with their right wingback driving into space, and the cross that arrived was flat and dangerous across the six-yard box.

Musso came off his line with both hands raised and claimed it cleanly under pressure from Genoa’s striker whose run had been sharp, and the collective exhale from the away section was audible even on the pitch.

The pressure continued and Genoa won a free kick twenty-five yards from goal in the thirty-ninth minute when Scalvini was adjudged to have held an arm, and their left-footed set-piece taker placed the ball carefully while both teams organized their respective shape.

The ball curled toward the far post with good trajectory and Musso was already moving across his line to claim, but Genoa’s tallest center-back had timed his run to arrive at the near post where the flight of the ball was actually directed, and his header connected cleanly before Musso could readjust.

GOAL: GENOA 1-1 ATALANTA (41’)

The Ferraris erupted and the noise was the compressed, released kind that comes from a stadium feeling something real rather than celebrating expected goals, and the home sections rose as one while the corner flags were mobbed.

Musso retrieved the ball from the net without expression and placed it at the center spot, and Demien stood with his hands on his hips while the celebration ran its course around him.

Commentary Booth

"The equalizer for Genoa and it’s everything their crowd demanded," the lead commentator said. "A well-worked free kick, and the run to the near post was perfectly timed. Genoa have life."

"Atalanta will need to respond in the second half," his colleague said. "The whole picture has changed. A draw here does nothing for them."

Fweeeeeetttttttt! Fweeeeeetttttttt! Fweeeeeetttttttt!

HALFTIME: GENOA 1-1 ATALANTA

Away Dressing Room Halftime 6:49 PM

Players came in still breathing from the final minutes of the half, and boots scraped on the concrete floor while water bottles were taken from the kit shelf and emptied quickly, and nobody sat immediately because the energy of the equalizer hadn’t fully cleared from the air.

Gasperini waited until the room settled before speaking and his voice was level.

"Nothing has changed in terms of what we need to do," he said. "Pattern was right. Execution was right until the set piece." He looked at Scalvini. "The free kick — where’s the man at the near post?"

"My ball," Scalvini said.

"Your ball," Gasperini confirmed, and the correction was stated rather than argued. "Second half — we keep doing what created the first goal. Wide channels, patience in possession, don’t go direct when there’s no angle." He looked at Koopmeiners. "Keep the second ball. We’re winning the first header but losing the second every time. That has to change." He paused. "Genoa will push for the winner because they need three points. When they push, there will be space behind. Use it." He looked at Scamacca. "When that transition comes you need to be ready to move before the ball does. Don’t wait."

He stepped back. "Second half. Stay disciplined. The goal will come."

He walked out first and the squad followed.

Stadio Luigi Ferraris Pitch Second Half 6:55 PM

Fweeeeeetttttttt!!!!!

46’ - 55’ |

Atalanta controlled the restart with patience while Genoa’s shape remained compact, and the ball circulated through the backline before working forward through midfield where De Roon and Ederson combined to move possession around Genoa’s press.

In the fifty-second minute Lookman received thirty yards from goal and turned under pressure before driving forward with the ball, and two Genoa midfielders converged to close the angle, and he played it square to Demien on the right edge of the area who took one touch to set it before driving a shot toward the near corner.

「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 Long Shot Taker

The strike was clean and rising toward the top corner with enough pace that the goalkeeper was already committing his weight before the contact was made — the trait doing exactly what it was designed for, the instinct to pull the trigger from distance arriving without hesitation rather than the hesitation that would have preceded a pass.

The goalkeeper got a strong hand to it and deflected it over the crossbar with his left palm, and the away section groaned while Demien held his head briefly before turning toward the corner flag.

Commentary Booth

"Atalanta so close," the lead commentator said. "Lookman finds Walter on the edge and the strike is excellent — but the goalkeeper produces a good save. Corner for Atalanta."

De Roon jogged toward the corner flag, took the kick quickly and swung it in, but Genoa’s near-post defender got a head to it and the ball dropped to safety at the edge of the box while Atalanta reset.