Rise of a Football God

'Come on guys, you can do it!'

Sam felt devastated but only for a moment.

Kayla's words before he decided to follow her to Netherlands impacted him a lot. Instead of lamenting the fact that his teammates were now trailing behind, Sam simply decided to have faith and believe in them.

So just like any other Fulham supporter, he went in behind them, cheering them in his mind as the game continued.

If Sam was maybe not in a lecture hall at this moment, he would be screaming at the top of his lungs already in support of his teammates.

After that stunner goal from Ipswich Town, Fulham became flustered a bit but only for a short time. That goal only made them angrier to get a result.

Their attacking raids became more urgent and aggressive as Ipswich Town was forced to pack the bus in their 18-yard box, defending with their lives.

In the end, such cowardly play paid off for the visitors in the first half as the game ended with Fulham trailing 0-1.

Sam did not think about the current scoreline much though, still fully behind his team as he cheered them on in his mind.

'Come on guys!'

When second half started, Fulham's domination continued but it was not as thorough as Ipswich Town had more opportunities on the break to go on a counterattack, threatening to make it 2 nil.

In those moments, Sam felt like his heart would leap right out of his throat but he held his nerve, watching and hoping as he clenched his fists tightly.

Noticing her boyfriend's antics, Kayla could not help but look at him weirdly, then at his phone. Seeing who was playing, she finally understood, she let him be.

Kayla's class was supposed to be a 2 hours long class, more than enough time for Sam to fully watch the game.

The second half was nervier than the first, testing Sam's patience and pushing his nerves to the limit but then, Fulham's relentless attacks finally paid off as they managed to find a way.

It was Alex Iwobi who broke the deadlock for Fulham.

After a long-lobbed pass from Lukic, Alex Iwobi ran in behind the Ipswich Town defense, calmly controlling the ball and taking it in his strides and then with his second shot, he whipped a powerful shot towards goal.

It was rifled towards the goalkeeper's new post but not expecting it, the goalkeeper was caught off-guard as the ball snuck in.

"GOALLL…!" Craven Cottage exploded.

Sam squirmed where he sat close to his girlfriend, pumping a fist excitedly.

If he was not in a lecture hall, he would have screamed for joy.

In the 70th minute, the scoreline was finally level, 1-1.

'Come on guys, 1 more goal!' He kept on cheering them on.

When the game continued, Fulham rode the momentum from their goal, attacking the Ipswich Town 18-yard box even more as the visitors decided to forget about attack, focusing only on defending.

Their anti-football style did frustrate Fulham, Sam felt the most frustrated but still, fortune favors the bold.

In the 1st minute of additional time after 90 minutes, Emile Smith Rowe got a pass from Pereira and went on a mazy dribbling run and then setting himself up, this midfielder scored a goal of the season contender.

It was a powerful driven shot from outside the box, leaving the Ipswich Town goalkeeper no chance as Fulham finally went on the lead for the first time this game.

"GOALLLL…!" Craven Cottage exploded again.

Feeling his body shivering in excitement, Sam could not hold it in anymore as he jumped in this lecture hall and pumped a fist excitedly. "Yes! Come on!"

"…"

Over a hundred eyes turned to look at him, including the lecturer's as Sam finally realized what just happened.
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His girlfriend pinched him by the leg. "Sit down!" She growled.

Chuckling slightly and muttering a sorry, Sam finally sat back down but even that awkward moment was not enough to curb his joy.

That joy of his that disappeared for the past 2 days returned.

Fulham won the game and Pereira got the man of the match award after his impressive display from the base of midfield.

Fulham was back to winning ways.

Later that same day at night, the blockbuster game of this matchday was played as Liverpool welcomed Manchester United at Anfield.

Renowned as a stadium where Manchester United dreams were killed, tonight was no different as the Merseysiders humiliated their rivals from Manchester, thumping Man United 5-1 at the end of one of the most exciting games of this premier league season.

Having brought Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP to replace Erik Ten Haag as their head coach, Man United fans expected a swift turnaround in results but from recent results, the memes and trolling from rival fans would only continue.

Man United were in one of their worst periods since the club's inception.

That night, cuddling with his girlfriend in her bed, Sam slept peacefully and happily. Today could not have gone any better for him.

…

The next day, after Wolves took on Notthingham Forest in another premier league encounter, all the matchday 20 clashes finally came to an end with results.

(Premier league:)

(Matchday 20 of 38:)

(Tottenham 2-1 Newcastle)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Bournemouth 1-0 Everton)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Aston Villa 3-0 Leicester City)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Crystal Palace 1-4 Chelsea)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Southampton 2-0 Brentford)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Man City 2-1 West Ham)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Brighton 0-3 Arsenal)

(Date: 4th January, 2025)

…

(Fulham 2-1 Ipswich Town)

(Date: 5th January, 2025)

…

(Liverpool 5-1 Man United)

(Date: 5th January, 2025)

…

(Wolves 1-1 Nottm Forest)

(Date: 6th January, 2025)

…

(Updated premier league table standings:)

(1. Fulham GP: 20/ W:15/ D:4/ L:1/ Pts: 50)

(2. Liverpool GP: 19/ W:14/ D:2/ L:2/ Pts: 48)

(3. Chelsea GP: 20/ W:12/ D:6/ L:2/ Pts: 42)

(4. Arsenal GP: 20/ W:11/ D:7/ L:2/ Pts: 40)

(5. Nottm Forest GP: 20/ W:9/ D:7/ L:4/ Pts: 34)

(6. Brighton GP: 20/ W:8/ D:6/ L:6/ Pts: 30)

(7. Man City GP: 20/ W:9/ D:6/ L:5/ Pts: 33)

(8. Newcastle GP: 20/ W:8/ D:6/ L:6/ Pts: 30)

(9. Aston Villa GP: 20/ W:9/ D:5/ L:7/ Pts: 32)

(10. Bournemouth GP: 20/ W:9/ D:5/ L:6/ Pts: 32)

(11. Tottenham GP: 20/ W:9/ D:2/ L:9/ Pts: 29)

(12. Brentford GP: 20/ W:7/ D:4/ L:9/ Pts: 25)

(13. Man United GP: 20/ W:7/ D:4/ L:9/ Pts: 25)

(14. West Ham GP: 20/ W:6/ D:4/ L:10/ Pts: 22)

(15. Crystal Palace GP: 20/ W:4/ D:7/ L:9/ Pts: 19)

(16. Leicester GP: 20/ W:3/ D:7/ L:10/ Pts: 16)

(17. Everton GP: 19/ W:3/ D:5/ L:11/ Pts: 14)

(18. Ipswich Town GP: 20/ W:2/ D:7/ L:11/ Pts: 13)

(19. Wolves GP: 20/ W:1/ D:5/ L:14/ Pts: 8)

(20. Southampton GP: 20/ W:2/ D:1/ L:17/ Pts: 7)