Rise of a Football God

In the FC Barcelona dressing room, there was silence for a time, the only sound being the heavy breathing of the players.

Until it was broken by the German coach.

Hansi Flick decided to amp the tempo with his players. "Come on guys!"

He clapped. "You and I know exactly what we came here to do, to win!"

"They're insecure from last season".

"They want to make us lose our cool, they want to unnerve us, that's why they're trying to incite violence on the pitch".

He grinned. "But that only means we're doing the right thing!"

Hansi Flick smiled. "Real Madrid are losing their nerves, and trust me, we have what it takes to make them lose it completely".

"People say they have nerves of steel, I say we can break even steel".

He grinned. "Let's go for the kill this second half!"

"Let's show them who the true King in Spain is!"

With that, the German coach was done, letting his words sink into the head of his players as time for the start of the second half loomed.

In the dressing room, sitting, Sam felt his hands twitching.

His whole body trembled. Sam felt… excited.

'Hehehe,' he grinned. 'Let's show Madrid who's boss!'

A few minutes later, the gladiators from Catalan stepped back into the pitch.

At the opposite side, stepping out of the tunnel, it was clear that the Madrid players also came with more venom to ditch out damage in this 2nd half.

Clearly, Carlo Ancelotti also said something to rile them up.

FWEEEE!

As soon as the referee's whistle sounded, it started, or rather, it continued.

Bam! Bam!

A game of end-to-end football, end to end attack, it continued.

The defenses of both clubs were stretched, pushed to their wit's end simply due to the level of offensive play in this second half.

For the Madridistas…

Vinicius Jnr. was constantly electric, creating something out of nothing.

Kylian Mbappe was explosive, bursting into life on intervals, pushing the Barca defense to the limit in a bid to score the winning goal of this game.

In midfield, Valverde led, having a terrific game.

He was everywhere, in attack, passing, unleashing terrific strikes of the ball. In defense, he was there, sliding everywhere, jumping into tackles with gusto.

Bellingham also had a solid game.

As for the Catalans…

Sam was the thorn that constantly tormented the Madridistas.

With his terrific level of play as a false 9 this game, the rest of the Barca attack raised its level to meet him, Lamine Yamal especially being a menace.

The young Spaniard repeatedly turned Ferland Mendy inside out, creating a few chances already even as Raphinha stayed a bubble of energy in attack.

In midfield, Pedri made things tick for the Catalans still.

He was having a terrific game.

This game was still tied, fiery, and electric.

Both clubs tried their all, utilizing every weapon in their arsenal and yet, a tangible result was yet to materialize in this 2nd half.

50 minutes, no goal…

60 minutes, no goal…

70 minutes, still no goal…

But then just 3 minutes after the 70th minute, Raphinha burst to life, bombing down the left-hand side of the pitch as he played one-two passes with Alejandro Balde, cutting through Madrid defenders like they were not there.

After one final pass from Raphinha, just as Camavinga rushed in, Raphinha nutmegged him, skipping into space and setting himself up to take a shot.

But just before he could take the shot.

Whoosh!

David Alaba slid in aggressively to block the shot.

Making a split-second decision, from a shot, Raphinha changed his mind, pushing the ball to the right where Sam lurked.

Bam!

With his first touch, Sam shifted the ball, away from Rudiger's aggressive charge and leg swing as the defender clattered into him.

Gnashing his teeth to bear the pain of Rudiger's aggressive kick, Sam tracked Raphinha with his eyes.

After that pass, the Brazilian continued his run.

David Alaba already reacted, chasing after him again but the Austrian was not as fast as the Brazilian and besides, Raphinha had a head start in this foot race.

Sam didn't hesitate…

Bam!

He touched the ball a second time, this time being a hit as with the inside of his boot, he delicately flicked the ball up and past Rudiger's reach.

"…!"

Rudiger reacted, moving his head after the ball to intercept it.

He could not intercept the ball, but he managed to graze it with his head, changing its trajectory a bit but mid-motion, Raphinha reacted to the ball's position.

Behind the Brazilian…

Thud! Thud!

David Alaba chased.

From the left, Carvajal charged in with a look like he was ready to kill while from the right, Mendy charged in with a calculating gleam in his eye.

Raphinha had no time to think, and so he simply shut his head down and did what he practiced all his life to do best, hit the ball.

In that awkward position, Raphinha jumped slightly and then, he swung his left leg with all the power that he could muster.

BAM!

Raphinha hit the ball with his left leg on a volley across the face of goal!

Like a rocket, it flashed with speed, disappearing even as Raphinha collapsed to the pitch, somersaulting.

As for the ball…

With wide eyes, Thibaut Courtois followed the ball as it flashed across the face of goal. He dived, stretching his tall frame as he reached for the ball.

His reaction was perfect, but the power behind that shot was just too much.

The ball flashed past his grasp.

Whoosh!

Mendy slid after the ball, swinging his leg and trying to intercept it but it was not enough as the ball rapidly flashed past him too.

In the end, the players in the white of the Spanish Capital club could only watch with desperate looks on their faces as the ball nestled into the net.

Raphinha somersaulted and quickly jumped back to his feet, pumping a fist in celebration. "GOALLL!!!" He screamed.

"GOALLLLL....!!!!!!!"

The away section in the Santiago Bernabeu exploded again.

It was pure chaos; it was pure cinema.