Rise of a Football God

Matchday 21 of the English premier league brought a lot of drama with it, but premier league fans could not help but look forward to matchday 22.

The main reason why they were already looking towards the next matchday was simple, it was because of a specific premier league game.

(Premier league:)

(Matchday 31 of 38:)

(Fulham – Liverpool)

(Date: 5th April, 2025)

It was not just a premier league game, it was dubbed a clash of titans, a top of the table clash that would play a big role in deciding the 2024/2025 premier league champions.

In a way, it was like playing a final.

This was why the build up to this decisive game was absolutely electric, drama-filled, and filled with a lot of emotions.

More tension was added to this game also due to history.

Earlier in the season, back in 14th December 2024, Liverpool welcomed Fulham to Anfield for the first leg of this specific premier league fixture.

On that night in Anfield, Sam made his name known to Liverpool fans, also announcing it to the rest of the English premier league.

His iconic display haunted Liverpool for a long time as his stand-out performance pushed Fulham to win 2-4 incredulously against Liverpool at home.

A lot of things have happened since that match but here they were again, on 5th of April, about to play the 2nd leg of this fixture.

It was safe to say that just like the Fulham players were motivated to win the game, the Liverpool players were even more motivated to win.

This was a clash of titans, a clash of 2 top tier football clubs with incredible winning mentalities this season.

And to top it up, both teams were in form.

Hours before the game, the lineup of both teams was released.

Starting in their regular 4-2-3-1 formation, Raul Jimenez started up-top as the sole striker for Fulham while behind him was the familiar trio of Alex Iwobi, Sam, and Emile Smith Rowe.

The Englishman may have suffered a fractured nose last time out against Arsenal, but wearing a bandage over his nose, he was prepped to start this game.

Behind them was the midfield duo of Lukic and Andreas Pereira, while the 4-man defense comprised of Antonee Robinson, Diop, Calvin Bassey, and Castagne. Bernd Leno naturally started in between the posts.

Just like Fulham, Liverpool started with their strongest starting XI for this clash in Craven Cottage.

Starting in a 4-2-3-1 formation just like Fulham, Alisson Becker started in between the posts while the 4-man defense ahead of the goalkeeper comprised Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil Van Dijk, and Andrew Robertson.

The midfield duo comprised of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, while the 4-man offense up top comprised of Mohamed Salah on the right, Curtis Jones in attacking midfield, Cody Gakpo, and then Luis Diaz.

It was a formidable team of elite footballers.

When the Liverpool team bus arrived in West London, the prepared home supporters gave them a sufficiently hostile welcome.

In this period of the season, emotions among fans were volatile and they no longer kept their hostility in check. This was the period of the season where the stakes of every football game were highest and emotions rose high.

The Fulham fans abused the Liverpool players, trying to get into their heads even before the game started.

When they eventually entered the stadium, the Liverpool players quickly learned that today was going to be grueling for them because the noise in this 30,000+ capacity stadium rose through the roof in extreme decibels.

The home supporters sang, chanted, and roared at the top of their lungs.

In this atmosphere, both teams finally went inside the pitch.

"And here it is!"

"The moment we've all been waiting for since Liverpool overtook Fulham at the top of the premier league table". Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

"Like they say, this is a clash of titans. Which of the 2 titans will emerge victorious today, Fulham or Liverpool?"

"Fulham have the Nigerian Zidane, Sam while Liverpool have their Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, which one will prevail today?"

"No one knows, we can only watch and see the result".

"Liverpool will be starting kick off, and the referee is about to blow his whistle".

FWEEEE!

As soon as the referee's whistle sounded, a battle started in Craven Cottage.

From their very first touch of the football, Liverpool showed that they meant business as Luis Diaz charged diagonally down the pitch at full speed only to receive an immaculate pass from Mac Alister that caught Fulham's defense napping.

"Woah…! What is this from Liverpool?"

"Will it…?!"

"…!" Craven Cottage froze.

The Colombian International executed a perfect touch, taming the ball but reacting quickly, Bernd Leno already chased him down.

Luis Diaz pushed the ball to the side, intending on rounding the Fulham goalkeeper but reading his intentions perfectly, Bernd Leno dove, punching the ball out for a corner with his fist.

"Wow…, what an early scare from Liverpool!"

And that set the tempo for the rest of this game.

When Liverpool took their corner kick, the imposing Dutch defender, Virgil Van Dijk rose highest but his header just flashed past the Fulham post.

"…!" Tensions in this stadium rose due to that initial play.

But it was only just the prelude.

When Fulham restarted play, just like Liverpool did, they took the game to their opponents, playing an incredibly aggressive game with the Merseysiders.

Coach Marco Silva's approach to this game was extremely straightforward.

The current Liverpool may have evolved from the Jurgen Klopp days but they were still the masters of gen-gen pressing. Due to the stakes of this game, the Fulham coach expected Liverpool to play with high intensity.

Instead of defending like he did against Tottenham in the early proceedings, Marco Silva rather told his team to match Liverpool aura for aura.

This was because this was going to be a game of momentum and morale.

The side that lost the psychological aspect first would be the one to lose the game. Defending would make his team seem weaker, and Liverpool may just ride that momentum to blow them out of the water.

This was why Fulham attacked, just as Liverpool attacked.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The fans in this stadium were put on the edge of their seats by the incredible attacking play by both teams.

This was truly an elite game.

For neutral fans, they were having far more than their money's worth, it was a high-end game of attacking football.

For Liverpool, led by Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool attack played with ruthless efficiency and urgency, searching for the early goal.

As for Fulham, Sam already launched at least 3 outside the box shots already as Alisson's gloves were left stinging from the power of his shots.

The S partnership was also striking this game, but Liverpool's intense gen-gen press killed the effectiveness, leaving Sam isolated most times.

For dozens of minutes, the game continued at an elite level but still, there was no goal till the 38th minute.

Despite the attackers of both sides showing up to this game, in the end, the goal came from an unlikely player in the pitch.

After another Liverpool corner kick, the imposing Dutch international, Virgil Van Dijk finally broke the deadlock as rising up above everyone again, he planted a firm header towards goal that finally beat Bernd Leno.

"…!" Craven Cottage was silenced, and then…

"GOALLLLL…!" Liverpool fans roared in ecstasy.