Rise of a Football God

(EFL Cup- Final!)

(Chelsea – Fulham)

(Date: 25th February, 2024)

(Venue: Wembley Stadium)

For Sam, it all started on that faithful night, 28th May, 2011, and it commenced in the iconic Wembley Stadium.

Sam still remembered the memory vividly like it was yesterday.

He still remembered the energy in the viewing center as Manchester United and FC Barcelona fought it out in the most important fixture of club football, the UEFA champions league final.

Since that time, it was already 13 years and now, no longer a boy but a man now, Sam was about to play his first game in this very same iconic stadium.

And just like that night, it was going to be a final game.

All these reasons and more made the Carabao Cup final game even more special for Sam. The venue for the game was a stadium that had a special place in his heart, and he was determined to create another unforgettable memory from it.

'We must win!' That was the only thought that dominated Sam's mind in the build up to the game.

After the Aston Villa game, the Fulham players had 8 days to prepare for the EFL Cup final and through these days, in training, Sam trained like a beast.

He put in more than 100% in every training session, pushing himself beyond his limits all in preparation for one of the most important games of his life.

His career was still a short one but Sam already participated in a few iconic games, specifically his run with Enyimba through the CAF champions league, the run through the FIFA Club World Cup, and now the run through the Carabao Cup.

In all 3 of these tournaments, he put in more than 100% effort and despite the fact that the end result was not always what he wanted, he still won 1 out of 2 trophies in these tournaments and the 3rd trophy was now pending.

Sam already made his resolve; he was determined to get the Carabao Cup trophy to cement his first season in England.

It didn't matter if they were going up against Chelsea whose form in the league was inconsistent, or if they were even going up against the mighty Real Madrid, Sam was just determined to win no matter who the enemy was.

What made the game even more important to him was the fact that to motivate his son even more, Mr. Moses took care of the logistics and after a month since he came to England, his mom and sister finally took a flight to meet him here.

Mrs. Moses and Sophia came to watch the game and support Sam live.

With them present, Sam was even more determined to win.

And after 8 days of going at it hard, putting beyond his best in every training session, finally, it was the D-day.

30 minutes before the game, the lineup of both teams was released.

Both teams started with their strongest line up.

Muniz managed to bench Raul Jimenez for this game again, starting at the top of the 4-2-3-1 formation as the striker spearheading the attack.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The 3-man midfield behind him comprised of Sam in the attacking midfield position, Harry Wilson as the right winger as De Cordova-Reid picked up a knock in training, while a surprising name completed the 3-man offense behind Muniz.

After flirting at the periphery of the Fulham starting line-up for months, Alex Iwobi finally made the big step up, convincing the coach through his performances in training to start him ahead of Willian for this important game.

Alex Iwobi started in the left wing.

Behind the 4-man attack, 2 defensive midfielders played as the anchors in Lukic and Palhinha.

The 4-man defense comprised of Robinson in left back, Calvin Bassey who recovered from his injury and Adarabioyo in center defense, while Castagne started as the right back of this team. Bernd Leno started in goal.

It was a strong team on paper, but the Chelsea team was even stronger.

For the Carabao Cup game, Maurichio Pochettino, the Chelsea coach started with his strongest lineup with the same 4-2-3-1 formation.

Nicolas Jackson started up top as the striker, and behind him, Conor Gallagher played directly behind Jackson, flanked on both sides by Raheem Sterling on the left and the scintillating Cole Palmer on the right.

Behind them, anchoring the game for Chelsea were Moises Caicedo and the Argentine world-cup winning midfielder, Enzo Fernandez.

Their 4-man defense comprised of Malo Gusto as right back, Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill in center defense, with Ben Chilwell covering the left back spot.

Petrovic started in between the posts for Chelsea.

That night, Wembley stadium was sold out as tens of thousands of fans in blue dominated, supporting their club energetically. The Fulham fans did not slack though as they also stormed this stadium in the tens of thousands.

It was a clash between blue against white, black, and red.

Even before the game started, as Sam entered the pitch alongside his teammates, he felt the tension in this stadium.

In a final, the stakes were at the highest but Sam was no newbie to this.

He grinned, taking in the energy, and then…

FWEEEE!

The game started.

For the first 10 minutes of this game, it was chaos as both sides went pound for pound at each other, playing physical football as they tried to dominate the proceedings and assert their authority over the game.

For the first 10 minutes, neither team managed to create a meaningful attack as Chelsea and Fulham defended like a team, snuffing out any attack pattern.

And then after 10 minutes, Chelsea asserted their authority over this game.

With Enzo Fernandez calmly pinging the ball around in midfield, helping his team gain control over the game and with his partner, Moises Caicedo playing as the destroyer, shutting off any Fulham attack, the forwards got their chance to shine and Cole Palmer seized it with aplomb.

The English midfielder was the outstanding player of the first half as Cole Palmer torched the Fulham defense time and time again.

His first touch was electric, enabling him to beat the Fulham players time and time again but despite this, he could not find the net.

Calvin Bassey and Adarabioyo were putting out a defensive masterclass.

The first half came to an end 0-0.

It was a cagey game.