Rise of a Football God

Chapter 268 The grand finale; matchday 38 [1]

(Premier league:)

(Matchday 38 of 38:)

(Fulham – Man City)

(Date: 25th May, 2025)

(Time: 16:00)

…

(Liverpool – Crystal Palace)

(Date: 25th May, 2025)

(Time: 16:00)

It was matchday 38, the final matchday of the season.

It was the grand finale of the 2024/2025 premier league season.

On the last matchday of the season, all 10 games in the matchday are played simultaneously at the same time so that the premier league champion could be decided at the same time after all the games were played.

That afternoon in Fulham, Craven Cottage was filled to the brim with tens of thousands of fans.

Tens of thousands of home supporters who were hoping, praying, and pleading for their club to create a miracle.

The atmosphere in the Fulham dressing room was solemn.

The players could not talk, neither could their coach, the gravity of the moment was already getting to them.

They were this close to winning a historic premier league title.

But amid the tension inside the dressing room, a certain player covered his ears with his earpiece, listening to a certain musical classic.

'Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity…'

'To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment…'

'Would you capture it or just let it slip?'

'Yo'.

'His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy…'

'There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti…'

'He's nervous, but on the surface, he looks calm and ready…'

'To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting…'

'What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud…'

'He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out…'

'He's chokin', how? Everybody's jokin' now…'

'The clock's run out, time's up, over, blaow…'

'Snap back to reality, ope, there goes gravity…'

While the rest of this team were feeling the jitters, various thoughts going through their heads, Sam nodded his head, flowing with the rhythm of the song and once the chorus started, he joined, muttering under his breath.

'You better lose yourself in the music…'

'The moment, you own it, you better never let it go…'

'You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow…'

'This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, you…'

'You better lose yourself in the music…'

As Sam mumbled with Eminem's words, he could feel calmness returning to him, permeating his bones and making him focused.

Lose Yourself, it was a song his dad once recommended to him when he faced a tough period in his football career. This was why on this pivotal day in his Fulham career, as the pressure got to him, Sam decided to listen to this song.

It helped calm his nerves.

And finally, it was time.

Before they left to the tunnel, Coach Marco Silva stood up, looking at his players with a complicated look in his eyes.

In the end he smiled. "We can do it," he laughed. "Let's go make history!"

As soon as the players came out of the tunnel…

BOOM!

Craven Cottage erupted as tens of thousands of home supporters cheered their players on, making their blood burn hot like a furnace.

The commentator started. "It's the moment we've all been waiting for, the final day of the season, the penultimate matchday, matchday 38".

"What an amazing season it has been".

"Fulham have pushed Liverpool all the way to this moment, this final matchday, can they actually do it and win the premier league trophy?"

"It's going to require a miracle".

"Right now, both teams are level on points but Liverpool has the advantage of leading with 4 goals when it comes to goal difference".

"This means, if Fulham are to lift the premier league title today, Liverpool either have to lose against Crystal Palace while they win against City which is honestly crazy, or they hope to score as much as 5 or 6 goals against the reigning champions which is even crazier".

"Man City have been inconsistent for most of the season but in recent months, they look more like their old selves".

"Fulham honestly need a miracle today to lift that trophy".

"Well, we watch it for the drama, let's see how it unfolds".

FWEEEE!

The referee's whistle sounded the next moment to kick-start the game.

Like expected, both teams started with their strongest lineup for this game and as soon as the referee's whistle sounded, a war started on the pitch.

Man City may not have much to be fighting for at this moment since they were already out of the top four, but still, they had no intentions of losing to Fulham and so they played their game.

The game was tight.

Despite the fact that Fulham were the ones playing at home and the fact that they needed the win more, it was the Manchester City players who played with more intent to score as they took the game to them.

At some point in this game, the Fulham players started being run ragged and after relentless pressure, the game finally opened up in the 36th minute.

It didn't open up in Fulham's favor though.

After keeping up the pressure since, Manchester City finally got a reward for their effort as after a mazy run, cutting through multiple Fulham players who kept on making clumsy mistakes, Phil Foden managed to squirm a shot past Bernd Leno's grasp into the net.

"GOALLLL…!!!" The away fans in this stadium erupted as the traveling Man City fans celebrated at the top of their voice.

"What is going on?" The commentator raved. "Fulham look nothing like their usual selves, they look rattled".

"Wow…, what a goal from Phil Foden!"

Charging towards the corner flag, Phil Foden slid on his knees in celebration even as the Fulham players felt all energy drain out of their body.

That goal left this team slightly demoralized.

They were the ones looking for goals, not just one goal but multiple goals, to concede on top of that was just... brutal.

For most of this first half, Fulham did not play like itself at all as they kept on making mistakes but then, just before half-time, Ruben Dias made a mistake which Raul Jimenez pounced on, scoring a lucky goal to draw Fulham back level.

FWEEEE!

The referee's whistle finally sounded, indicating that the first half was over.

Fulham may be drawing the game, but the players walked into the dressing room with ugly looks on their faces.

The players' mood was ruined even more when they got news.

(Premier league:)

(Half-time:)

(Liverpool 1-0 Crystal Palace)

They truly needed a miracle. Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire