Rise of a Football God

It was 87 minutes into the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, and Manchester City was leading by a slim margin of 4-3.

Could he actually do it?

Could Enyimba FC actually do it?

Sam's first goal in the 73rd minute of the game definitely rattled some Man City nerves but the players only saw it as a minor threat.

His second goal in the 83rd minute rattled even more nerves mostly due to the nature of the goal. Scoring a goal from 25 yards out showed Sam's incredible confidence and form in the final moments of this game.

But to the Man City players, it still only seemed like a consolation goal.

But his 3rd goal?

That 3rd goal was what swung the momentum for the first time this game from Man City's iron grip, swinging in Enyimba FC's direction.

Manchester City was the best club in the world with world-class footballers, but even for world-class footballers like them, there were times when they are caught on a pinch on the pitch.

And in these moments, it was more on mentality than anything else.

There was only 3 minutes till the end of the game. Man City was still leading but on the pitch, it didn't feel that way at all.

Enyimba FC didn't play like they were losing, nor did they play like they were drawing the game either, rather, this team played like they were winning.

"COME ON!" Sam roared, riling his teammates on.

By the 87th minute of the game, most of them were already tired after running themselves to the ground for much of this game but with Sam still leading from the front, all of them stayed believing.

At this moment, they were like grunt soldiers on a battlefield.

Following the orders of their commander, they didn't care if they were fighting a losing battle or if winning required them to sacrifice their lives, all they cared about was accomplishing their commander's orders and winning.

For those final minutes, the noise in the stadium in Riyadh truly climbed to a crescendo, rising to record-breaking decibels.

On the pitch, the tension was palpable.

The stakes of this final had never been higher. Now, it was up to Manchester City to uphold their reputation as the best club in the world and see off the incredible challenge from their reportedly inferior opposition.

It was just 3 minutes remaining of the 90 minutes but in that short time, Samuel Moses remained the standout player.

The no. 19 jersey was like a ghost haunting the Man City players.

Sam already went rogue, disobeying his coach's instructions as he took on a free role in the final minutes of this game all due to the singular purpose of getting his 4th goal of the game, or creating it if possible.

He didn't care if he scored the goal, he just wanted his team to win.

There was only one thing ringing in his head. 'Win!'

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

'I need to win!'

Anytime the ball touched his leg, to many of the spectators, it didn't feel like it was Sam who was on the pitch at all, rather it seemed like a prime Zidane reincarnated into the body of the young Nigerian.

Sam skipped past challenges like they were not there.

Rodri, the Man City mainstay rarely went on sliding tackles but Sam's incredible form in the final minutes of this final left this midfielder chasing shadows, using every trick in his incredible repertoire just to stop him.

At exactly the 90th minute, Sam came close again, unleashing another outside the box shot that beat Ederson, again.

"Oh my God! Will he do it?!"

"Sam is in God mode this evening!"

"Will it enter? Ohhhhh…, it hits the post!"

"What a shot!"

Hearing the sound of the ball hit the post and watching it rebound back into the field, Sam felt his heart sink but that feeling lasted for only a moment.

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

He kept on chanting in his mind like it was some sutra.

After 90 minutes, the referee added 4 minutes of additional time to this incredible final and in those last 4 minutes, all hell broke loose.

This time, it was not just Sam anymore.

Just like Sam wanted to win by all means, Manchester City also wanted to win and the big names of this legendary team started rearing their head again.

Manchester City had a pride to uphold. They didn't demolish Real Madrid 4-1 at home in the champions league semifinals last season on the way to winning only to come here and lose to an African team.

By then, Erling Haaland, the deadly striker was already dead tired, barely impacting the game but 3 players remained a menace, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, and most importantly, the maverick midfield enforcer, Kevin De Bruyne.

In those final minutes, it was pound for pound.

It was war!

Shots were taken at a crazy frequency as both teams worked their way through the opposition, trying to find another goal to kill the game.

And finally, in the 90th plus 3 minutes, it came…

Sam's endless stamina on the pitch helped him win back possession, but he barely held onto the ball when Bernardo Silva's press came. Going one way and using a feint, Sam left this short player for dead and dashed the other way only to run into a road block, Rodri.

The defensive midfielder cleanly won back the ball, outmuscling Sam and leaving him on the ground.

While Sam scrambled to get back on his feet, he was given a VIP ticket of exclusive viewing angle to watch the moment that killed the game.

As soon as Rodri won the ball, the loose ball rolled freely into the path of the marauding Kevin De Bruyne.

With one touch of the ball with his right leg, this attacking midfielder took the ball in his strides even as he set himself up.

Farouk was already rushing in to tackle but it was too late.

Kevin De Bruyne didn't even take a look at goal, simply raising his right leg before unleashing a whipped shot towards goal.

VROOM!

Farouk heard the ball fly past him like a rocket!

It was a ground ball. Green grass tore off the field from the ball's sheer momentum, flying haphazardly as if in in worship of the ball's passage.

Ojo dived low, but it was not enough.

The ball snuck into the bottom left corner of the post, sneaking into the net!

The commentator erupted. "Ohhhhhh… my God!"

"What a GOALLLL!!!"

"Kevin De Bruynneeeee!"

"The Belgium King has done it!"

"A deadly Belgian bullet straight through Nigerian hearts all over the world!"

"What a goal! What a shot!"

"And the game is decided!"

"5-3 to Man City!"

Sam was in the process of standing up when he watched Kevin De Bruyne produce this iconic moment, adding to his long career full of iconic moments.

Once the ball entered the net, Sam felt like an arrow just pierced his heart.

He collapsed back on the pitch, eyes closed and welling with tears even as Kevin De Bruyne charged to the corner flag to celebrate with his teammates.

'It's over'. He thought, devastated.

FWEEEEE!

The final whistle sounded soon after, bringing the game to an end.

Kevin De Bruyne won the man of the match award for the game after his 4 goal contributions of 1 goal and 3 assists.

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