Rise of a Football God

Chapter 119 Cold Palmer



During half-time in the dressing room, an agitated Marco Silva walked up and down the dressing room, paying attention to his players.

All of them were tensed, still filled with the adrenaline of the first half.

Despite the fact that the first half ended 0-0 with neither team managing to break the duck, it was a highly intense game full of ups and downs.

After pacing up and down some more, Marco Silva clapped loudly, attracting the attention of his players. "Come on guys!" He stared at them.

"This is the game of our lives!"

"When last did you play in a final?"

"A final is something that comes once in a lifetime for most football careers, that's how important tonight is for us".

"I don't know about you but I definitely don't want to just come and go as a passenger, I want to create a memory that I can proudly tell my grandchildren about, something to brag to my great grandchildren". He grinned.

"All of you did well in the first half, but this second half," he pounded his fists. "I want more".

"Give me more!" He roared.

"Give me enough to win!"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"I don't care whether you have friends on the other side of the pitch. Tonight, there are no friends, only enemies".

"And in war, you don't spare your enemies, you kill your enemies".

"Come on!" He clapped again. "Let's go out there and bury Chelsea!"

By the time Marco Silva was done with his speech, all the players felt their blood boiling hot like they were dumped in a volcano.

Sam felt his brain heating up like it was on fire.

All the Fulham players were fired up, determined to give their all to win the game but they were not the only ones.

Probably Maurichio Pochettino did the same thing with the Chelsea players because when they came out into the pitch for the second half, all of them had eyes burning with fire and determination.

The tension between both teams became palpable, and when the referee's whistle finally sounded, this tension became a supernova.

It exploded.

FWEEEE!

Fulham restarted the game and immediately, the Chelsea players were all over them, pressing aggressively like hungry Pitbulls.

Feeling the energy of the Chelsea players, it ignited a competitive spirit in Sam, pushing him into an otherworldly level of concentration again.

'Win!' 'Win!' 'Win!'

The familiar mantra started in his head again.

Sam was a calm person, respectful and not troublesome, but this personality became a thing of the past when his competitive spirit was triggered.

His competitive spirit was only triggered by football and when it was triggered, he was like an unstoppable Lion who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted and in this second half, Sam was triggered.

Sam utilized his incredible stamina, running all over the pitch, combating against the physical Moises Caicedo and the sturdy Chelsea defense.

Most times, he was outmuscled by the more physically imposing Chelsea players but Sam still managed to get what he wanted, to create chaos.

And in the chaos, he thrived, stealing loose balls and spraying passes left and right as he set his teammates up.

Alex Iwobi was also having an impressive game as he pressured the Chelsea defense from the left, bullying Malo Gusto with his physicality.

On the other side, Raheem Sterling finally switched on, going on mazy dribbles down the left-hand side as he tortured Castagne this second half.

Despite all the eye-catching performances around the pitch, Cole Palmer remained head and shoulders above every other player on this pitch as this midfielder put out a display to remember, threatening every time his leg touched the ball.

In the first 10 minutes of the second half alone, he forced Leno into making an impressive save even as he set up Nicolas Jackson 3 times!

It would have been 3-0 if the Chelsea striker was not so profligate.

Both teams were playing at a high level, thriving in the chaos on the field but despite their performances, a goal failed to materialize in this game.

Muniz personally was having a game to forget as despite chances created by Sam, Wilson, and Alex Iwobi, he failed to capitalize.

All in all, this game was proving to be a horror game for the strikers.

The energy of the fans in the stands never died though as the game wore on, instead, it only increased, rising to a crescendo as their noise rose through the roof.

Their energy buoyed on the players on the pitch.

It was no longer just a game, it was war!

Sam tried his best, trying everything in his repertoire to influence the game and leave an impact, yet the goal failed to materialize.

Cole Palmer did the same for Chelsea and just like that, time passed.

55 minutes passed, still no goal…

60 minutes passed, still no goal…

70 minutes passed, still no goal…

And then, in the 73rd minute of this game, the deadlock was finally broken.

Riding the energy of this stadium, after receiving a long pass from Enzo Fernandez, Raheem Sterling calmly took the ball in his strides in the left wing, controlling it with his lap as he exploded, going on a mazy run.

This Chelsea winger went haywire, utilizing his quick feet and pace to penetrate the Fulham defense like a hot knife through butter.

He turned Castagne inside out, leaving the Fulham right back for dead before cutting into the 18-yard box and curling a shot towards the top right corner.

Leno went on a full-stretch dive but it was not enough.

"Will it? Will it?!"

"And oh! The post comes to the rescue!"

Raheem Sterling grabbed his hair, ruffling it in frustration as his incredible effort rebound off the bar into the field.

And in the chaos as the Fulham players scrambled to clear the ball, that was when the English maverick entered the equation.

Thud!

Eyes narrowed in focus on the rolling ball, legs running in a calculated rhythm one step before the other, Cole Palmer was so focused he entered a state of trance.

And when his left leg hit the ball from just outside the 18-yard box, he hit it with the venom he accumulated for over 70 minutes of this game.

BAM!

The shot was a ground ball, tearing the green grass apart, rotating like a destructive ping pong ball as it snuck past the scrambling legs of Fulham defenders and then past Leno's outstretched arm before nestling into the bottom left corner of the Fulham net.

Wembley Stadium was briefly silenced, then…

"PALMERRRRR…!!!" The English commentator screamed at the top of his voice, and like a dynamite setting off the iconic English stadium as the tens of thousands of fans in blue roared in ecstasy.

While the commentator went all lyrical with his words, drowning the goal with superlatives, Cole Palmer ran towards the corner flag to celebrate.

As soon as he arrived, calmly, this midfielder did his cold celebration.

Chills…, the Chelsea fans felt chills…

The fans worshiped him, screaming at the top of their lungs even as the other Chelsea players came and jumped all over him, celebrating excitedly.

In the 73rd minute, Cole Palmer broke the deadlock, making it 1-0 to Chelsea.

Fulham was put on the backfoot.


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