Rise of a Football God

(Premier league:)

(Matchday 17 of 38:)

(Aston Villa – Man City)

(Date: 21st December, 2024)

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(West Ham – Brighton)

(Date: 21st December, 2024)

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(Ipswich Town – Newcastle)

(Date: 21st December, 2024)

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(Brentford – Nottm Forest)

(Date: 21st December, 2024)

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(Crystal Palace – Arsenal)

(Date: 21st December, 2024)

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(Everton – Chelsea)

(Date: 22nd December, 2024)

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(Man United – Bournemouth)

(Date: 22nd December, 2024)

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(Fulham – Southampton)

(Date: 22nd December, 2024)

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(Leicester City – Wolves)

(Date: 22nd December, 2024)

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(Tottenham – Liverpool)

(Date: 22nd December, 2024)

Fulham's game against Liverpool was not the end of the world and conscious of that, under their coach's tutelage, the Fulham players kept on pushing, giving their all in training.

After that Fulham game, the players realized something.

They didn't really pay attention to it before now but after that Liverpool game, when they did, they discovered that the stock of every single one of them that played for Fulham game-in game-out already increased considerably.

Their valuation in transfermarkt already experienced a massive increase and this did even more in bolstering the confidence of these players.

There was this feeling of inferiority complex among mid-table teams before, most especially when they're facing teams that were superior on paper.

But now, after the victory against Liverpool, Fulham truly shed their identity as a mid-table team this season and their mentality changed with it.

Even in training, they now played like players playing for a big club, there was no margin for error in their game anymore.

The only acceptable outcome from them in games was perfection if they truly wanted to go all the way and win the premier league trophy.

After the Liverpool game, they had 18 days of rest to prepare for their next game and they did not waste it, continuing to give their all in training like upcoming stars who aimed to impress their coach.

They didn't care that their next opponent was going to be Southampton, the club currently in the worst form in the premier league.

They would prepare for it like any other game.

Like this, the days passed and in no time, D-day was here.

Like expected, both teams started with their strongest lineups.

For Fulham, Raul Jimenez once again led the line as the starting striker, while behind him was the trio of Harry Wilson who was returning from injury, Sam, and Emile Smith Rowe.

Behind the forwards was the duo of Lukic and Berge, while the 4-man defense comprised of Antonee Robinson, Cuenca, Diop, and Tete. Bernd Leno naturally started in between the posts for Fulham.

For Southampton, McCarthy started in between the posts. Walker-Peters, Harwood, Bednarek, and Manning started ahead of the goalkeeper, while the 3-man center midfield comprised of Aribo, Downes, and Fernandes.

Dibling started as the sole attacking midfielder, while ahead of him was the offensive duo of Armstrong and Sulemana.

They played in a 4-3-1-2 formation.

It was another Fulham home game played in Craven Cottage.

On paper, Fulham were poised to blow Southampton out of the water and as soon as the first whistle from the referee blew, Fulham did just that, coming out of their shell like an apex predator that smelled blood.

And in this game, with Alex Iwobi rested, the S factor partnership struck in all it's deadliness as within just 3 minutes, the first goal entered.

After a series of tiki taka passes to cut through the Southampton formation, Sam released the final pass back to Emile Smith Rowe who poked it in behind the defense for Raul Jimenez to run into one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

McCarthy, the Southampton goalkeeper charged out immediately to snuff out the danger but keeping his cool, Raul Jimenez calmly rounded the goalkeeper before poking into an empty net to score his team's first goal.

The crowd in Craven Cottage didn't roar as loud as they did at other times when their team scored, they simply sang their club songs, cheering on their players as they were feeling in a good football mood.

They knew that their team would win, just by how many goals.

After that first goal though, Southampton improved, matching Fulham's intensity. Even as their attack remained blunt against Fulham's defense, they were able to stay compact and defensively disciplined, keeping the rampant Fulham attackers at bay.

10 minutes, 1-0…

20 minutes, 1-0…

30 minutes, 1-0…

This game was seemingly about to dissolve into a boring affair where Fulham just attacked fruitlessly and Southampton defended, till a certain player decided to take matters into his own hands and entertain the home supporters.

Still feeling in the mood of his girlfriend having visited after the Liverpool game, culminating in one of the best days of his life, Sam's good mood translated into samba football on his part.

He didn't even go full throttle to flex his ability as CR7's heir in this game yet, he simply decided to enjoy his football.

And then, Sam did it, spraying passes left and right, cutting the Southampton defense down time and time again with his passes like some otherworldly Butcher that decided to ascend from the abyss to torment humans.

He was Southampton's ever-present nightmare and finally, the result came as in the 37th minute, Sam set up Emile Smith Rowe, slipping the ball in for him to rifle into the net, doubling Fulham's lead.

37 minutes, 2-0…

3 minutes later, Sam did it again, setting up Emile Smith Rowe again with a perfectly weighted lobbed pass in the Southampton 18-yard box for the in-form winger to poke into an empty net from close range.

40 minutes, 3-0…

Fulham was tearing Southampton apart.

But then, not satisfied yet, Sam did it again 5 minutes later, setting up Emile Smith Rowe for the third time this game.

This time, it was a simple pass outside the box, setting the English winger up to unleash a thunderous shot from outside the box.

McCarthy, the Southampton goalkeeper dived, touching the ball with his fingertips but it was not enough as the ball snuck past his grasp and into the net.

"Yessss!!!" Emile Smith Rowe celebrated exuberantly.

It was his first hattrick of the season, and it was also Sam's first hattrick of assists in his career.

45 minutes, 4-0…

Southampton were not only being torn apart; they were being humbled.

During half-time, Coach Marco Silva finally made a single change, taking off Sam and putting on Pereira to replace him.

Sam already had a perfect game.