Rise of a Football God

When the Fulham players lined up in the London Stadium, camping in hostile territory, as they heard the loud roars of the West Ham supporters, they didn't cower, rather they felt their blood boil hot like a Dragon who was provoked.

Fulham FC was provoked.

And in mythological history, even in the tales of the Lord of the Rings and the iconic Game of Thrones series, when a Dragon was provoked, it never ends well for the trouble makers.

As soon as the referee's whistle sounded, the Dragon roared.

FWEEEE!

West Ham United started kick-off but it was almost like Fulham won the ball back immediately, due to their insanely aggressive press!

Right from the first minute, this team showed their intent to press like monsters, showcasing relentless energy on the field of play.

And for the first time in how many games, Fulham FC entered a game with tyrannical momentum, breaking the deadlock early.

Kickoff just started as the West Ham players pinged the ball between themselves when Muniz pounced like the head of a Dragon, stealing the ball in a dangerous position in just the 1st minute of this game!

Panicking, the West Ham defenders tried to recover but the striker was already off, charging towards the West Ham United post.

The goalkeeper rushed out and as he did, calmly, Muniz kicked the ball, lobbing it above this goalkeeper and into the net.

"GOALLLLLL…!" The away fans section erupted.

As soon as the ball found its way into the net, Muniz charged behind the post, pupils dilated as he stared at the horde of West Ham supporters.

He glared at them and roared. "Come on!!!"

"BOOOO…!" The West Ham supporters responded with a chorus of boos but Muniz didn't give a damn, his actions already set this pitch on fire.

When the referee's whistle sounded again to restart play, West Ham tried to get back into the game but this team found soon enough that doing that was going to be an uphill task.

West Ham could not retain possession. The players barely received a pass when they were hounded by not one but multiple Fulham players.

It was almost like the Fulham players were everywhere, playing with such an intensity that rivalled that of a prime Liverpool's gen-gen pressing.

Maybe if it was a technical team like Manchester City, they would have been able to beat this crazy press with sheer technicality and brilliance but West Ham United was no Manchester City.

Knowing this, a prowling Fulham capitalized.

The second goal of this game came just 7 minutes after the first, in the 8th minute after a well-worked team move as De Cordova-Reid ended it, scoring an incredible curled effort that beat the West Ham goalkeeper.

10 minutes later, Alex Iwobi completed a first-half riot by Fulham after another trademark penetrative through pass from Sam.

Running into the pass, all the Nigerian International had to do was poke the ball as it went in between the legs of the West Ham goalkeeper.

"GOALLLL…!" The away fans section exploded in cheers again.

"…!" The rest of this stadium was as silent as a church.

"What a goal!" The commentator raved.

"The 3rd Fulham goal in just the 18th minute!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Damn! Fulham are on a ruthless streak today!"

"It's not that West Ham are playing bad, Fulham are just playing on a truly devastating form today, what a first half this is turning out to become!"

"And who knows? It's just the 18th minute, things may soon turn worse and ugly for viewers of the West Ham persuasion!"

"The only question is if Fulham can keep the intensity. This intensity is not something that can be sustained across 90 minutes of a football match".

"At some point, they'll get tired and they'll have to reduce the tempo, is that when West Ham will finally come into this game?"

Well, things didn't go exactly as the commentator predicted, but one prediction did go as he thought.

Things did turn ugly.

After going 3 goals down in just 18 minutes, the West Ham players finally rallied, organizing themselves and playing solid football to frustrate the rampant Fulham players who were playing incredibly intense football.

For about a dozen minutes or so, they figured Fulham's press out, slowly growing into the game and trying to impose their authority till the 32nd minute when all of their efforts were ruthlessly destroyed by individual brilliance.

In the 32nd minute of this game, Sam got his second goal contribution of this game after assisting Alex Iwobi earlier.

And again, it was one of those trademark rocket shots from outside the box.

Receiving the ball just outside the West Ham 18-yard box, Sam nutmegged a player to the side, setting himself up before unleashing a rocket straight into the top right corner. The goalkeeper stood no chance.

As soon as the ball entered, Sam jumped, screaming at the top of his lungs as he pumped his fists excitedly.

"BOOOO…!" The West Ham fans drowned him in boos in return but he didn't care, he wanted more and Fulham got more.

In the 45th plus 3 minutes, Sam added salt to injury, scoring Fulham's 5th goal just before halftime as he lashed in to a cross in the 18-yard box with a venomous volleyed shot!

POW!

The West Ham goalkeeper didn't even see it coming, he was rooted to the spot.

"My God!" The commentator exclaimed. "This is not just a defeat anymore, this is bullying!"

"What a statement first half from Fulham!"

The first half ended 0-5 to Fulham FC.

When second half started, Coach Marco Silva made a few changes, taking off Alex Iwobi and De Cordova-Reid but the Fulham momentum didn't stop.

By now, all the West Ham players wanted was a consolation goal to save face but it didn't come, rather the score line only turned uglier.

In the 66th minute of the game, Sam got his 4th goal contribution, setting up Willian who scored the 6th goal of this game!

It was a total destruction.

And 8 minutes later, in the 74th minute of this game, Sam got his hattrick, capping off his unreal performance with 5 goal contributions!

"ZINEDINE SAMMMM!!!"

"ZINEDINE SAM!" The commentator screamed in a shrill voice. "The boy is a menace! A force of nature! A typhoon of destruction!"

"He has single-handedly ripped West Ham to shreds!"

"The Nigerian Zidane is a menace!"

"Oh ye premier league, fear the Nigerian wonder!"

Just a minute later, Sam was finally subbed out of this game in the 75th minute but only after nailing West Ham's defeat, dooming this elite team to a humiliating 0-7 home loss, Fulham's highest margin win all season.

The game ended 0-7, Sam scooped up another man of the match award and his first premier league match ball after scoring a hattrick.

This was a statement victory.