Chelsea restarted and went straight back through Palmer, central at first, drifting toward the right half-space to combine with Sterling. Demien tracked the run initially, then passed him on the moment it reached the exact zone United had drilled on Monday, holding his own position instead of following into the same mistake twice.
Chelsea recycled inside. The pass came for Caicedo.
Demien read it before it arrived.
「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Ball Winner」
He stepped in and sent United forward again.
「MATCH MISSION PROGRESS」 「Midfield Recoveries: 1/4」
Nothing came of the resulting attack directly, but he released Garnacho early enough that Chelsea had to sprint back into their own third instead of building anything of their own.
The match stayed open despite the lead. Shaw picked up a booking trying to stop one Chelsea transition, a foul that would cost United some of his usual aggression against Sterling and Mudryk for the rest of the half.
