MTLNOVEL Chapter 242: Winning streak [3]
Crystal Palace destroyed…
Wolves defeated…
Aston Villa swept under the rug…
Finally, it was Brighton's turn to be put under the wrath of Fulham's sword.
In the premier league, Brighton was enjoying a positive run of form but for this premier league fixture, Fulham were the heavy favorites after their 3-game winning streak with impressive wins against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
Brighton was out to cause an upset, while Fulham were determined to maintain their streak. It was a clash of ideologies and footballing wills.
With the likes of Adingra, Enciso, and Pedro all starting for Brighton, they were a dangerous side but Fulham did not buckle under the pressure.
In the American Express Stadium in Brighton, it was a high-octane game of attacking football from both sides as they strived to get the lead first.
Defensive masterclasses from both teams kept the 2 teams' offense at bay even as they kept on attacking but in tight games like this, that was when individual brilliance and excellence gets to shine.
In the 42nd minute of this game, the African Zidane shone.
It was a moment of explosive brilliance as Fulham's S factor shone.
After winning the ball back in midfield, Sam quickly sprayed a pass to the right where Emile Smith Rowe lurked.
The English winger beat his man before floating a ball back towards him in the box. Rising into the air in the Brighton 18-yard box, Sam controlled this ball with his chest and as soon as he landed, his right leg swung with power.
Before a defender could close him down, he unleashed a ferocious shot at goal that left the Brighton goalkeeper rooted to the spot.
POW!
All the goalkeeper saw was a blur. In just a moment, the ball was already in the back of the net as the away stands in this stadium erupted.
"And the African Zidane strikes again!" The commentator raved even as the Fulham traveling supporters clamored in joy. "Damn! What a player!"
"He's definitely back to his best now!"
"After his injury, his performances were noticeably affected despite the fact that he was still highly effective as a midfielder for Fulham but now? Now, this is the vintage attacking Sam that we're used to seeing!"
"This is Zinedine Sam in his full glory!"
Charging towards the corner flag, Sam slid on his knees in celebration, pointing towards his head to highlight his mentality as he was drowned in an ocean of boos by the Brighton fans. Objects were even thrown at him.
He didn't mind though, smiling at them.
For the rest of this game, including the second half, Fulham and Brighton strived to score another goal but it never materialized.
Sam's sole goal became the deciding factor in this game.
Fulham racked up another win, extending their streak to 4 wins in 4 games. And with it, matchday 28 of the English premier league was completed.
(Premier league:)
(Matchday 28 of 38:)
(Nottm Forest 2-2 Man City)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Man United 2-1 Arsenal)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Tottenham 3-1 Bournemouth)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Wolves 0-0 Everton)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Liverpool 1-0 Southampton)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Chelsea 2-1 Leicester City)
(Date: 8th Match, 2025)
…
(Brentford 3-3 Aston Villa)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(West Ham 1-2 Newcastle)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Crystal Palace 2-0 Ipswich Town)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Brighton 0-1 Fulham)
(Date: 8th March, 2025)
…
(Updated premier league table standings:)
(1. Liverpool GP: 28/ W:22/ D:1/ L:2/ Pts: 73)
(2. Fulham GP: 28/ W:20/ D:5/ L:3/ Pts: 66)
(3. Arsenal GP: 28/ W:18/ D:7/ L:3/ Pts: 61)
(4. Chelsea GP: 28/ W:18/ D:7/ L:3/ Pts: 61)
(5. Tottenham GP: 28/ W:14/ D:4/ L:10/ Pts: 46)
(6. Aston Villa GP: 28/ W:12/ D:9/ L:8/ Pts: 45)
(7. Nottm Forest GP: 28/ W:12/ D:9/ L:7/ Pts: 45)
(8. Brighton GP: 28/ W:12/ D:7/ L:9/ Pts: 43)
(9. Man City GP: 28/ W:11/ D:8/ L:9/ Pts: 41)
(10. Newcastle GP: 28/ W:10/ D:8/ L:10/ Pts: 38)
(11. Man United GP: 28/ W:11/ D:5/ L:12/ Pts: 38)
(12. Bournemouth GP: 28/ W:10/ D:7/ L:11/ Pts: 37)
(13. Brentford GP: 28/ W:10/ D:7/ L:11/ Pts: 37)
(14. Crystal Palace GP: 28/ W:7/ D:10/ L:11/ Pts: 31)
(15. West Ham GP: 28/ W:8/ D:6/ L:14/ Pts: 29)
(16. Leicester GP: 28/ W:4/ D:9/ L:15/ Pts: 21)
(17. Everton GP: 28/ W:5/ D:6/ L:17/ Pts: 21)
(18. Ipswich Town GP: 28/ W:3/ D:8/ L:17/ Pts: 17)
(19. Southampton GP: 28/ W:3/ D:3/ L:22/ Pts: 12)
(20. Wolves GP: 28/ W:1/ D:8/ L:19/ Pts: 11)
After 28 matchdays of the 2024/2025 premier league season, this was how the premier league table looked like.
Liverpool was still leading but Fulham's distance to the top was now reduced to 7 points. This was still a sizeable margin, but it was better than before and that was all that mattered to the Fulham players.
In the past 3 matchdays of the premier league season, Fulham was the only premier league club to get maximum 9 points.
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Compared to them, Liverpool's premier league fixtures were against Man City, Newcastle United, and Southampton.
Their first game against Manchester City was when they stumbled.
Despite the fact that the reigning premier league champions were having a horror season in terms of their regular standards, against their bitter rivals, Man City picked up their form as they played an amazing game against Liverpool.
They managed to take 2 points off the current premier league table leaders, helping Fulham with a huge favor.
Despite this though, Fulham still had a lot to do if their aspirations of getting back to the top of the premier league was to be actualized.
And the first step to this aspiration was their next 3 fixtures, 3 extremely challenging fixtures. Coach Marco Silva compared his team's next 3 fixtures with Liverpool's next 3 fixtures.
(Fulham fixtures:)
(Premier league:)
(Fulham – Tottenham)
(Date: 15th March, 2025)
…
(Arsenal – Fulham)
(Date: 1st April, 2025)
…
(Fulham – Liverpool)
(Date: 5th April, 2025)
***
(Liverpool fixtures:)
(Premier league:)
(Aston Villa – Liverpool)
(Date: 15th March, 2025)
…
(Liverpool – Everton)
(Date: 2nd April, 2025)
…
(Fulham – Liverpool)
(Date: 5th April, 2025)