My Ultimate Gacha System-Chapter 302 - 291: Atalanta vs Roma I

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Centro Bortolotti Training Complex, Zingonia

8:24 AM

Matchday morning at Zingonia is quiet in the way mornings before home matches always are, and the facility has the controlled energy of professionals managing pre-match routines without drama or unnecessary noise.

Players arrive through the main gates in their own vehicles and park in designated spots before heading inside where breakfast waits in the dining hall — oatmeal and scrambled eggs and fresh fruit arranged in serving dishes, while coffee sits in thermal containers that keep it hot without burning.

Demien fills his plate with controlled portions because matchday nutrition follows specific protocols, and he sits beside Ederson at a table near the window where they eat without extended conversation beyond brief exchanges about sleep quality and how legs feel this morning.

The brief activation session that follows breakfast takes place in the main gym rather than on the pitch, and stretching routines are executed methodically while muscles are warmed gradually through controlled movement, and the work is light because matchday preparation is about maintaining readiness rather than building fitness.

Centro Bortolotti — Parking Lot

12:02 PM

The bus to Gewiss Stadium departs at noon exactly and players board with bags already loaded into the storage compartment beneath, while the driver checks his mirrors before pulling away from the facility as soon as the last person is seated.

The drive through Bergamo shows the city preparing for the match in visible ways — flags hanging from apartment windows in blue and black, scarves tied to railings along the main roads, supporters already moving toward the stadium even though kickoff is three hours away.

The Gewiss Stadium appears ahead and the structure sits solid against the afternoon sky while stands are visible through gaps in the exterior walls, and sections are already filling with supporters who arrived hours early to claim their positions near the front.

Gewiss Stadium

Away Dressing Room

12:38 PM

Inside the dressing room the atmosphere carries the weight of home rather than the unfamiliarity of away fixtures, and everything is positioned exactly where it should be because this space has become second nature through repetition across the season.

Shirts hang along the wall with the Serie A patch stitched cleanly onto each sleeve, and boots are lined beneath the benches in numerical order while the room smells faintly of liniment and the specific scent that comes from freshly laundered kit.

Demien sits in his usual spot near the back corner and begins taping his wrists slowly with the white athletic tape pulled tight enough to provide support without restricting circulation, and his fingers work through the routine automatically while his mind stays quiet and focused on the immediate rather than projecting forward toward kickoff.

The team sheet goes up on the board near Gasperini’s tactical diagram and Demien’s name appears in the starting eleven exactly where he expected it — midfield beside Ederson with Koopmeiners positioned ahead of them in the attacking role.

ATALANTA STARTING XI (3-4-2-1)

Musso

Tolói — Scalvini — Djimsiti

Hateboer — Ederson — de Roon — Mæhle

Demien — Koopmeiners

Scamacca

Gasperini enters fifteen minutes later and stands in the center of the room without raising his voice, and players finish their preparations while he waits for everyone’s attention before speaking.

"They’ll press early," he says, and his hands stay in his jacket pockets. "We stay calm. Win the ball high and transition fast. First twenty minutes we set the tone."

No one responds beyond nods because the instruction is clear and doesn’t require verbal acknowledgment, and Gasperini steps aside while the squad begins moving toward the tunnel.

Gewiss Stadium

Tunnel

2:57 PM

The tunnel is wider here than at away grounds and Atalanta’s players stand at the front of the line because home teams exit first, while Roma waits behind them in their deep red shirts and their expressions show the focus of a team that needs points to maintain European qualification hopes.

The noise from the stadium leaks down the corridor in sustained waves — drums from the Curva Nord creating rhythmic thunder, chants building and fading and building again, the collective voice of twenty-three thousand supporters who have filled every available seat.

The referee signals with one raised hand and both teams begin walking forward together, and the tunnel opens into the stadium where the afternoon light meets them and the noise crashes down from all directions at once.

Blue and black flags wave across every section of the Gewiss Stadium while the Curva Nord bounces as a single mass, and the away section in the south corner carries Roma’s colors in a concentrated block that creates noise without matching the home crowd’s volume.

Commentary Booth

"Good afternoon and welcome to the Gewiss Stadium where Atalanta host Roma in a crucial Serie A fixture," the lead commentator begins while both teams complete their final warm-ups. "Fourth-placed Atalanta with seventy points face sixth-placed Roma with sixty-six. For the home side, a win would virtually secure Champions League qualification with only two matches remaining. For Roma, they need points to keep their European hopes alive."

"The stakes couldn’t be higher," his colleague adds. "Atalanta are two points clear of Milan in fifth, but Milan have a game in hand. This is the kind of pressure match where experience matters, and both managers will be demanding composure from their sides."

The teams take their positions and the referee raises the whistle to his lips.

Fweeeeeetttttttt!!!!!

1’ - 14’ |

Atalanta press immediately from the opening whistle and Lookman closes down Roma’s right-back before the defender can settle the ball, forcing a hurried clearance that travels toward the halfway line where de Roon is positioned to collect.

The ball is recovered quickly and circulation begins through midfield with short passes that probe for openings without forcing penetration, and the tempo is high from the first minute because Gasperini’s instruction to set the tone requires intensity that doesn’t allow Roma to establish their rhythm.

Roma try to slow the match down through extended possession in their own half but Atalanta’s press doesn’t relent — Scamacca closes the center-backs while Demien and Koopmeiners cut off passing lanes into midfield — and turnovers arrive within seconds of Roma attempting to build.

In the fourteenth minute the breakthrough comes from exactly that pattern.

Ederson reads a lazy pass between Roma’s midfielder and center-back and steps in front of the intended target, and his interception is clean while his first touch takes him forward into space because Roma’s defensive line has pushed high expecting to receive the ball.

He drives forward three strides before sliding the ball into Demien’s feet fifteen yards ahead, and Demien receives with his back to goal while a Roma midfielder arrives immediately to apply pressure from behind.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」

Johan Cruyff — Turn Innovator

Demien’s first touch is controlled and kills the ball dead, and his second touch comes as a sharp turn that takes him away from the challenge while creating a yard of space, and suddenly he’s facing forward with Roma’s defensive line scrambling to recover.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」

Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker

The pass arrives before the space closes — threaded between two retreating defenders toward the left channel where Lookman has continued his run after the press — and the weight is perfect because Lookman doesn’t need to break stride to collect.

Lookman’s first touch takes him diagonally toward the penalty area and his second sets up the shot, but as he strikes the ball a Roma defender throws his body into the path and the deflection sends the trajectory upward and looping rather than low and direct.

The goalkeeper commits to diving right based on Lookman’s body shape before the deflection, and the ball floats over his outstretched hands before dropping just beneath the crossbar into the goal.

GOAL: ATALANTA 1-0 ROMA (14’)

The Gewiss Stadium erupts with noise that feels physical in its intensity while flags wave frantically across all sections and the Curva Nord bounces in unified motion, and Lookman wheels away toward the corner flag with both arms raised while teammates chase him down.

Demien jogs toward the celebration without sprinting because his contribution was functional rather than spectacular, and when he reaches the group Ederson claps him once on the shoulder while saying something inaudible over the crowd noise.

Commentary Booth

"GOAL! Atalanta take the lead!" the commentator roars. "Brilliant work from Ederson to win the ball, Walter with the clever turn and perfect pass, and Lookman benefits from a fortunate deflection! One-zero to the home side!"

"Exactly the start Gasperini wanted," his colleague observes. "High press forces the turnover, quick transition through midfield, and suddenly Roma’s defense is exposed. The deflection helps, but the movement and decision-making were excellent."