Rise of a Football God

Bam!

"Ohhh! And the ball rebounds off the crossbar!"

"Zirkzee would be left ruing his luck there, the header was perfectly executed to the top corner, only the post deprived him of the goal there".

"And what a strong start from Manchester United!"

In the 18th minute of the game, after a few minutes of sustained pressure, Joshua Zirkzee got on the end of a Bruno Fernandes cross as the striker rose above all the Fulham defenders and planted a firm header at goal only to be thwarted by the goal post.

Ruffling his hair, this player cursed.

But the game was already continuing without him as Calvin Bassey pounced, clearing the game up field.

As soon as the referee's whistle sounded from the first minute, buoyed by the loud noise that was being made by the home supporters, Fulham played with venom and purpose as they aimed to get the early lead.

But for some reason, they could not sustain this pressure as it lasted for only 5 minutes before Manchester United took the game by the scruff of the neck.

For the next 15 minutes or so, Manchester United dominated as they tried their best to score, their closest being Joshua Zirkzee's header.

In the end, despite their efforts, the game was still level 0-0.

After the 20th minute though, Fulham settled down again as riding the energy from the loud noise around Craven Cottage, they slowly settled down into this game until it was no longer one-sided.

This game became even and once it did, it became pound for pound.

Bruno Fernandes vs Lukic, Emile Smith Rowe vs Manuel Ugarte; all across the pitch, exciting matchups dominated the game as the players of both teams gave their all to give their team the edge in this game.

In the 33rd minute of this game, Amad Diallo came closest to opening the deadlock as after a long pass from Kobbie Mainoo, the young forward bravely drove forward with the ball before unleashing a venomous shot at goal that stung Bernd Leno's gloves.

The Fulham goalkeeper saved a sure goal only due to his quick reflexes even as Craven Cottage exploded with cheers for their goalkeeper.

Immediately after making the save, Bernd Leno took the ball and quickly launched it forward for a quick counterattack.

Alex Iwobi took it in his strides, sprayed it to the other side of the pitch to Emile Smith Rowe who set Raul Jimenez up one-on-one with Andre Onana.

Somewhere in Netherlands, at that moment, Sam jumped up to his feet, about to scream in celebration but he only ended up cursing. "F*ck!"

"What a save from Andre Onana!" The commentator raved.

"What a game this is turning out to be! Both goalkeepers are in elite form!"

Despite the many chances that dominated this first half, the game ended 0-0 but it was during 2nd half that the level of play in this game truly shot up to a stratospheric level, showcasing the determination of both teams to win.

It was pound for pound football, extremely physical and rough, mixed with a few glimpses of individual brilliance.

And in the 54th minute of this game, Antonee Robinson showed his talent again as after an inverted driving run from left back, this left back unleashed an absolute piledriver of a shot that tore its way into the bottom right corner of the post.

Andre Onana stood no chance.

"ROBINSONNNNN…!" The commentator screamed.

"What a goal, what a moment!" Read exclusive content at empire

"He really is rising up for his team in recent weeks!"

"They call him the best left back in the league now and oh boy, is Robinson living up to the challenge!"

"What an absolute rocket!"

Craven Cottage exploded after that goal. Even after the celebrations, the ecstatic home supporters kept on singing at the top of their voices.

The same thing for a certain Samuel Moses in Netherlands; Antonee Robinson's goal turned Sam's mood straight from 12 to 100!

After that goal, Fulham finally regained control over this game as they kept on taking the action to Manchester United's 18-yard box.

Man United kept on trying to turn the tides to no avail.

In the 70th minute, Ruben Amorim finally said f*ck it and pulled the plug, making a couple changes to his team as Marcus Rashford was introduced into the game and his substitutions paid dividends almost immediately.

2 minutes after coming on, consequence of a failed Fulham corner kick routine, the rapid English forward got on the end of the cleared ball.

Taking the ball in his strides, Rashford kicked it long before absolutely obliterating Castagne in a race battle.

Bernd Leno charged out to clear the ball but Rashford was faster still, arriving earlier as the Englishman chipped the ball above the goalkeeper.

Due to the fact that he didn't add too much power to it, the ball rolled slowly towards goal even as Diop charged back to clear it.

In that moment, time seemed to freeze in Craven Cottage…

"…!"

Will it or will it not?

Diop barely arrived on time but when he cleared the ball, his balance was already too awkward as he ended up rifling it into his own net instead.

"F*ck!" The center back cursed angrily.

It was recorded as a goal to Marcus Rashford still.

72 minutes, 1-1…, out of the blue!

In a moment, the game turned on its head but Fulham responded immediately, pushing more players forward to snatch the lead again.

Their risk paid off as after being kept quiet for most of this game, Raul Jimenez burst to life, executing a sublime touch and control after an Alex Iwobi pass to get past his man before rifling the ball into the net.

"RAUL JIMENEZZZZ…!" The commentator screamed.

"What a game, a thriller!"

"Fulham are not about to give up 3 points at home!"

"Fulham are back on top again in the 78th minute, what a game!"

But then again, somehow, Manchester United came back and again, it was the rapid English forward.

This time, receiving the ball in the left side of the pitch, Marcus Rashford went on a short run past Castagne again, and then he cut in before curling a shot past a sprawled Bernd Leno.

"My God…! Rashford is feeling it today!"

"This is prime Rashford in display! What a shot, what a goal!"

Even the Englishman could not believe how good he was playing today.

In the 86th minute of this game, it was back level, 2-2…

In the final minutes of the game, it was pound for pound as relentlessly, both teams pursued the winner without caring much about the risk.

It was a 50-50 situation and in recent seasons, Fulham fans were used to crossing over the line in situations like this.

Surely, today would be no different right?

But they forgot something, there was no Zinedine Sam on the pitch.

In the 2nd minute of additional time, it was the rapid Englishman again, Marcus Rashford as after receiving a pass from Bruno Fernandes, in a show of how synced and lost he was in the zone state, this forward set himself up before unleashing an absolute rocket of a shot from 30 yards out!

Whoosh!

The ball flew like a rocket, drilling through the air with venomous momentum…

Time seemed to freeze...

Craven Cottage watched in silence, and then…

"GOALLLLLLLL…!" The commentator screamed.

"MARCUS RASHFORD!"

"MARCUS RASHFORD!!!"

"MARCUS RASHFORD…!!!"

"What a statement display!"

"A hattrick to show Man United fans that he's still got it!"

"They're clamoring for the club to sell him, and this is his reply, a vintage Marcus Rashford performance!"

And that, brethren, was how Fulham lost a game that they seemingly had in the bag already.

It was an exciting game, but torturous from the Fulham perspective.

…

In a certain apartment in the Netherlands…

"…"