He didn't make a clean tackle—Leão was too quick for that—but his presence forced the Portuguese international to adjust his body shape fractionally, and the resulting shot was slightly rushed rather than composed.

Tolói read it perfectly, sliding in front of the ball with perfect timing, and the shot deflected off his thigh harmlessly wide for a corner.

The away section erupted in appreciation for both defenders—Tolói's sliding block and Demien's recovery run—while Leão slapped the grass in frustration because he knew that chance should have been converted.

Commentator: "Brilliant defending from Tolói! He reads that perfectly and blocks Leão's shot. That could have been two-nil."

Co-Commentator: "Leão has been unstoppable tonight. Every time he gets the ball, Atalanta's defense is in trouble. Hateboer's had a difficult evening."

De Roon jogged past and clapped twice in acknowledgment, his captain's approval meaning everything, while Demien bent over with hands on knees trying to catch his breath.

His stamina rating was good (82) but not elite, and playing this intensely against Milan's press while also tracking back fifty yards on defense was exhausting in ways that numbers on a stat sheet couldn't capture.

He was already breathing harder than he'd like with sixty-four minutes still to play.

28th Minute

Milan's corner came in with pace toward the far post, Tomori attacking with a late run that beat Mæhle's tracking, but the centerback's header was directed straight at Musso who collected comfortably.

The goalkeeper launched another quick counter, this time finding Højlund's run in behind with a long throw that bypassed Milan's midfield entirely.

The Danish striker chested it down with Kjær tight on his back, and his touch took him toward the right channel where space opened briefly.

But Kjær's defensive positioning was excellent—showing Højlund outside while Tomori recovered to provide cover—and when Højlund tried to cut back inside the Swedish defender tackled cleanly, winning the ball without conceding a foul.

30th Minute

The match settled into a pattern—Milan dominating possession while Atalanta defended in their compact 4-2-3-1, waiting for moments to counter when Milan's press left gaps behind.

Díaz received between the lines again, this time managing to turn past De Roon with a clever shoulder drop, and his pass found Theo making an overlapping run down the left.

The French fullback's cross came in with pace toward the near post, but Djimsiti read it perfectly and headed clear before Giroud could attack the ball.

The clearance reached Bennacer who controlled and immediately switched play to Calabria on the opposite flank, Milan circulating possession with patience that suggested they knew the goal would come eventually if they maintained this level of pressure.

33rd Minute

Milan built through midfield again, Tonali driving forward with the ball as Díaz made a run in behind that De Roon tracked aggressively.

The Atalanta captain timed his tackle perfectly, winning the ball cleanly with a sliding challenge that stopped Díaz's run completely—but the Spanish midfielder's trailing leg caught De Roon's planted ankle after the ball was gone, and both players went down in a tangle of limbs.

The referee's whistle blew immediately—sharp and decisive.

Fweeeet!

The official jogged over, reaching into his pocket as Díaz protested with open palms, but the decision was already made. Yellow card shown to Díaz for the late challenge, and Milan's attacking midfielder accepted it with a grimace before jogging away.

But De Roon stayed down clutching his ankle, his face showing pain that couldn't be faked, and the crowd's noise dropped slightly as everyone recognized this was serious.

Atalanta's medical staff sprinted onto the pitch immediately, and the captain tried to walk it off—shaking his head in frustration and testing the ankle gingerly—but after thirty seconds of assessment he signaled to the bench.

He couldn't continue.

Commentator: "Oh no. This is a disaster for Atalanta. Éderson already out for the season, now De Roon injured in the same match. Their midfield depth is being tested brutally here."

Gasperini's face showed no emotion as he signaled for Pasalic to prepare, the Italian midfielder already stripping off his warmup jacket and receiving final instructions from the assistant coach on the touchline.

The fourth official raised his board.

Substitution - Atalanta

OUT: #15 De Roon

IN: #88 Pasalic

De Roon limped to the touchline with support from the physios, his captain's armband transferred to Tolói who jogged over to receive it, and the Albanian defender wrapped it around his bicep with the kind of seriousness that suggested he understood the responsibility.

Pasalic entered at the 34th minute, high-fiving De Roon briefly as the captain left the pitch, and he slotted into the double pivot alongside Koopmeiners while Atalanta reorganized their shape.

The substitution forced a tactical shift.

Gasperini's instructions from the touchline were clear—Demien needed to drop deeper to help control midfield, sacrificing some attacking threat for defensive stability.

This immediately affected Atalanta's shape. With Demien deeper, Milan's backline could push higher, compressing space and making it harder for Lookman and Malinovskyi to receive in dangerous positions.

Tonali now had more freedom to join attacks, trusting that Demien was occupied with defensive responsibilities rather than ghosting between lines looking for killer passes.

37th Minute

Milan sensed blood.

Their passing tempo increased, moving the ball side to side with purpose, and Atalanta's defensive shape began showing cracks as tired legs made positioning fractionally slower.

Maignan played short to Tomori, the centerback driving forward three yards before finding Bennacer in space, and the Algerian midfielder's first touch took him away from Pasalic's press before he switched play with another raking diagonal.

The ball dropped toward Theo on the left flank, and the French fullback controlled it on his chest before driving forward with that relentless energy that had already destroyed Hateboer twice.

This time Hateboer had help—Tolói sliding across to provide cover—but Theo recognized the double team and passed back to Díaz who'd drifted left to create a 3v2 overload.

Díaz played a quick one-two with Leão, the ball moving faster than Atalanta could adjust, and suddenly Leão was in the channel between Tolói and Djimsiti with space to attack.

38th Minute

Leão drove at Tolói with the ball at his feet, his acceleration taking him past Atalanta's centerback in two touches, and Musso came off his line aggressively to narrow the angle—making himself big with arms spread wide.

Leão's shot was struck with power toward the near post, and Musso's reflexes were excellent—getting a strong hand to the ball—but the deflection sent it looping up and back toward the six-yard box rather than away to safety.

The ball hung in the air for what felt like an eternity, spinning backward toward goal, and every player in the penalty area reacted simultaneously.

But Leão never stopped his run.

The Portuguese winger's anticipation was elite, reading the deflection's trajectory instantly and adjusting his movement while Atalanta's defenders were still processing, and he arrived first at the dropping ball.

His volley was struck cleanly from four yards, right foot making perfect contact, and the ball crashed into the unguarded net before any Atalanta defender could react.

GOAL!

AC MILAN 1-0 ATALANTA

38' - Rafael Leão

San Siro exploded.

Sixty-eight thousand Milan supporters created a roar that shook the concrete and steel, red and black flags waving in every section while Leão sprinted toward the corner flag with his arms spread wide in celebration.

His teammates mobbed him—Theo arriving first, followed by Giroud and Díaz and Tonali—while the Milan bench erupted in celebration and the coaching staff high-fived with the kind of satisfaction that came from executing a game plan perfectly.

Commentator: "LEÃO! What a goal! What persistence! Musso makes the initial save but the rebound falls perfectly, and Leão is first to react. That's clinical finishing from the Portuguese winger, and Milan lead at San Siro!"

Co-Commentator: "This is the quality gap. Leão's pace, his positioning, his instinct—that's what separates good players from great ones. He never stopped his run, and now Milan have the lead their dominance deserves."

A/N

First off, thank you all so much for the Power Stones and Golden Tickets! I truly appreciate every single one of them. I see all of you supporting this story, and I'm so sorry for not mentioning names individually—please know that your support means everything to me.

I also want to apologize for not uploading as fast as I'd like. Proofreading and editing is honestly so stressful, especially because I've noticed I've been making mistakes in some earlier chapters, so I'm really trying my best to avoid that going forward. Balancing my 8-6 job with writing is… a lot. (PS: Do NOT work in a finance company, haha—it will drain you!)

But wow, we've reached 100 chapters! I can't believe I've gotten to chapter 100! And 100 Golden Tickets? We're so close—that's amazing!

One more thing: I'm sorry if the story feels like it's dragging at times. I just feel that some information can't be skipped because in my last book, I did that and it created a lot of plot holes. So please bear with me as I try to build a solid foundation this time around.

Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me on this journey. Your support keeps me going!

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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