Rise of a Football God

In the blink of an eye, Fulham's lead was canceled.

Everything happened so fast, the second half just barely started when in a moment of individual brilliance from the Egyptian King, Liverpool where back in the game and Mohamed Salah got another assist for his troubles this season, increasing his goal contribution tally even more.

But that goal was not the end of this game, rather, it was just the beginning.

47 minutes in, 1-1…

FWEEEE!

The referee blew the whistle for the restart and like expected, that goal became the prelude to even more drama and action in this game.

Anfield remained extremely loud, cheering their team on as even with one man down, Liverpool played fearlessly with skill and courage.

While they played, they were also wary of Fulham's threat, fully conscious of the fact that they were playing with just ten men but perhaps, they were just not wary enough.

After Luis Diaz's goal, it was still an end-to-end game but the momentum was now slightly on Liverpool's side as X Factor seemed to start favoring them this game.

But with Alisson Becker and Leno both being in terrific form, the scoreline remained 1-1 as both goalkeepers pulled off sensational saves, keeping their respective teams in the game till the later stages of this game and that was where the true drama began.

In this game, close your eyes for a moment and you would miss an important highlight or moment leading up to more drama.

The Liverpool and away Fulham fans had their eye peeled open, paying keen attention as they finally bore witness to another goal in this game.

This time, it came in the 76th minute.

"Now Iwobi…, sliding it through for Robinson again, and he's tucked it back and ohh, it's innnn!"

"Fulham are back ahead, and it's Muniz with the goal!"

Having replaced Raul Jimenez at some point this game already, Muniz got on the end of the incredible team move, scoring Fulham's second goal of this game and giving his team the lead again in Anfield.

This time, Alex Iwobi and Robinson's imprint were all over the goal as it was the former's delicious pass and the latter's inside run that resulted in the goal.

76 minutes, Liverpool trailed again, this time 1-2…

There was less than twenty minutes to the end of this game but clearly a certain fanbase didn't give up on the game yet.

Boos rang around Anfield as they jeered their opponents. Clearly, they were defiant, having no intentions of giving up yet as after the referee's whistle, they continued cheering their team on.

Just 10 minutes later, the status quo changed, again.

Liverpool was just relentless.

Again, another moment of individual brilliance opened up this game, this time orchestrated and finished by Liverpool.

Having just returned from a lengthy injury layoff, it was Diogo Jota, the Portuguese International who added the finishing touch for Liverpool this time.

"It's Jota…, twisting, turning, scoring!"

"Returning with a bang!"

The Portuguese International brought this game back level exactly ten minutes after Fulham scored their goal to go 1-2 ahead.

Charging towards the corner flag, Diogo Jota jumped and pumped a fist in celebration even as the commentator kept on going lyrical about his goal.
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In the 86th minute of this game, 2-2…

Surely, with less than 4 minutes to go till fulltime, this game was going to end in a draw, this was what the regular football fan would think.

But players were not regular, and definitely not a certain Fulham player called Sam.

'Win!' 'Win!' 'Win!'

The mantra was back.

The mamba spirit was already rearing its head again.

It was not just Sam, clearly, the Liverpool players also wanted to go all the way and get the winner. It was a clash of convictions and determination now.

For most of this game, Sam played good but not yet at his scintillating best as the talented Liverpool midfield and defense did a good job in curbing his impact on the game, till now.

Now, with the knowledge that his club actually needed him did Sam finally take the last step, entering the zone state.

Bzzz!

In Sam's perception, everything about this game changed.

Sam became Liverpool's nightmare in the later stages of this game.

After Diogo Jota equalized, Liverpool was chasing the winner till exactly the 90th minute of this game when Sam pulled a trick out of his magic box full of tricks, stunning Anfield and all its inhabitants.

Lukic won back the ball, passing to Sam and then from deep, he went on a marauding run, cutting through the Liverpool half like a formless Wraith.

In the zone already, using feints, subtle shifts and shuffles of the ball, and delicately timed la croquetas, Sam penetrated through the Liverpool players like they were not there till he met a roadblock in Virgil Van Dijk.

Thud!

Not willing to take the risk, Sam stopped in his tracks but without pause, he quickly shifted the ball to his right side, and then…

POW!

With his dominant right foot, Sam unleashed a thunderous piledriver shot towards goal.

Virgil Van Dijk tried to block the shot but he didn't react on time as the ball went past him, flying towards goal like an unstoppable rocket.

Alisson went on a full stretch dive, his hand grazing the ball but it was not enough to stop it as it forced its way into the bottom left corner.

"Come on!" Sam jumped right there on the field, in front of Virgil Van Dijk, veins popping, pupils dilated in ecstasy as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"What… a… goal!" The commentator raved.

"My God, I'm speechless, this is just Sam at this point".

"This is Sam-class! The boy is in an entire stratosphere of his own!"

"Having been quiet for some time, he's suddenly surged to life when his team needs him the most!"

"He always shows up when Fulham needs him, he is their superhero!"

"Surely, that's the end of the game, Liverpool are done".

But no, Sam was not satisfied just yet.

Having borne witness as Liverpool clawed their way from behind twice in this game already despite being a man down, he was not satisfied with a 1 goal lead, and this was why he ditched even more misery to the Liverpool players, and in extension to their fans all around the world.

In the 90th plus 5 minutes, Sam doubled his goal tally for this game, scoring his second goal of this game and it was an absolute beauty.

Having been locked out for much of this game but with space all of a sudden to operate due to Liverpool's urgent need for another equalizing goal, Emile Smith Rowe got all the time he needed to float a dangerous pass into the box.

At first, it seemed like the pass was aimed towards Muniz who lurked in the box but no, it was aimed at the player whose late run just brought him into the box as the ball descended.

The ball was too high for Sam though and having read the danger, Virgil Van Dijk already reacted, charging towards his position to clear the ball.

Sam had no time to control this ball due to the impending arrival of the imposing Netherlands International, and so, he simply decided not to control it.

Thud!

Kicking the ground, Sam leaped and then twisting his body in mid-air, he swung his right leg with venom at the ball in the air, executing an incredible scissor kick that packed a lot of punch with it.

BAM!

Alisson was rooted to the spot; he didn't even move.

The ball was hit with so much power that it almost tore the net apart.

Anfield was once again silent, while the away fan section exploded soon after even as a mind blown commentator screamed shrilly at the top of his voice.

"Zinedine Sam!"

"Zinedine Sam!"

"Zinedine Sam!"

"This boy is just too good to be true!"

"Remember the name, Samuel Moses!"

Fulham won the game 2-4 after an unforgettable battle on the pitch.