They dubbed it the London Rumble.
That evening, North London beca explosive.
Passionate Chelsea fans in blue across North London ca out in numbers, going on a blue parade around the city of London.
Blue ribbons, blue smoke, blue buses, Chelsea fans pulled out all stops, shutting London down on the 26th all in the preparation and passion for the ga.
The fans in blue made their voices heard hours before the ga.
From their actions, it was clear that they demanded nothing from their team but victory. Yes, Fulham was topping the premier league table.
Yes, Fulham was a team in incredible form, but Chelsea was equipped with the tools to win this ga and since they were playing at ho, the Chelsea fans wanted nothing but a convincing victory.
This was why they did all this fanfare.
When the Fulham team bus rolled into town, they were assaulted by a tirade of blue. Passionate Chelsea fans welcod them to their part of town, raining insults at them, shoving offensive banners in their faces.
It was absolute chaos.
The Fulham team bus needed security before it was able to make its way inside Stamford Bridge. This encounter alone already unnerved the Fulham players, which ant the fans in blue already partially achieved their goals.
Sam knew what was happening. It was pretty normal in football; fans go to pretty extre lengths just to put their opponents off their ga.
It was working, the Fulham players were barely holding on to their nerves.
Sam was also affected but unlike them, he had an inner voice that reared its head whenever he was challenged.
The fan service already registered as a challenge to his brain.
'Win!'
The voice was already rearing its head.
As they ca down, Sam said just a single word to his teammates before leading the way out. "Let's go get another famous win!"
With that, he stepped out of the bus first.
"BOOOOO…!"
Instantly, Sam was drowned by a tirade of boos.
Passionate Chelsea fans booed him loudly, showing him the middle finger whole also yelling offensive words at him.
Sam simply took one look at the fans in blue and then, calmly, he wore his headset before trudging down into the stadium.
His teammates took a line from his playbook, putting their headsets on just as they stepped out of the team bus as they increased their music volu, drowning the noise being made by the Chelsea fans.
It worked.
Listening to music, they felt their tensed minds relaxing. And then, they finally entered their dressing room for the final preparations before the ga.
A few minutes later, both squads erged out of the tunnel.
There was no last-minute change to both team lineups, Chelsea and Fulham both started with their strongest lineups.
For Chelsea, Robert Sanchez started in between the posts while their 4-man defense comprised of Malo Gusto, Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella. Ahead of them was the midfield duo of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
The 4-man attack comprised of Noni Madueke, Cole Palr, Jadon Sancho, and the resurgent Nicolas Jackson.
Playing the sa 4-2-3-1 formation, Fulham slapped Chelsea with their own lineup of players, promising an exciting clash in Stamford Bridge.
Again, Raul Jinez led the line as the striker while behind him was the trio of Alex Iwobi, Sam, and Emile Smith Rowe. Further behind them was the midfield duo of Lukic and Pereira.
Their 4-man defense comprised of Robinson, Diop, Calvin Bassey, and Tete while Bernd Leno naturally started in between the posts.
Due to the fan service from the ho fans before the ga, even before a ball was kicked, the tension in this stadium was already palpable.
FWEEEE!
As soon as the referee's whistle sounded, it was like the horn to kickstart a war was finally blown as it exploded.
The battlefield was already set, it was Stamford Bridge.
The stakes were highest, 3 points were up for grabs. The armies of both sides were ready and determined, and their Generals were laser focused, ready to lead their troops into battle, a prelude to a titanic struggle.
From the very first minute of this ga, Chelsea took the ga to Fulham after the referee's whistle sounded, forcing the West London club to defend.
For another ga in this premier league season, Sam was forced back to help his team defend and he did it with gusto. This was because just like his teammates, he could sense the threat that this Chelsea team posed to them.
From the midfield to attack, Chelsea was having a terrific ga.
Cole Palr and Enzo Fernandez created the attacking thrust, utilizing their creativity to constantly break Fulham down, forcing them into compromising situations where they had to improvise to survive.
During the first few minutes of this ga, it was wave after wave of Chelsea attacks even as the ho fans in Stamford Bridge roared their players on.
It was a wonder why Chelsea didn't get a goal yet by the 10th minute.
But the North London club learned to rue their inability to score because after the 10th minute, Fulham was no longer content with absorbing pressure.
Like a caterpillar unfurling from its cocoon and becoming a butterfly, Fulham soon transford, spreading its wings and taking flight.
And of course, this resurgence was led by a certain player, Samuel Moses.
"Sam!" "Sam!" "Sam!"
The Sam chants broke out in Stamford Bridge by the away fans.
The ho fan did not let it though as they drowned it with boos but in the zone state already, Sam did not let any of the noise affect him.
Sam was not the first player to enter the zone state though.
Cole Palr entered the zone state first, directing the Chelsea attack and once Sam also entered the state of flow, he led Fulham on the counterattack.
It beca an end-to-end ga of endless action.
And just as Fulham was becoming threatening, another Chelsea player entered the zone state in Moises Caicedo.
That night, the Ecuadorian International seed to reincarnate, channeling the spirit of a pri N'golo Kante.
That night, OG Chelsea fans didn't see Caicedo, all they saw was the endless energy of N'golo Kante gliding through the pitch, causing mayhem, stealing balls, and creating counterattacking opportunities for Chelsea.
With help from the Ecuadorian international, Cole Palr took it a step further and in the 33rd minute of this ga, the Englishman created Chelsea's closest chance of this first half.
POW!
Cole Palr's direct shot forced Bernd Leno into an impressive save, stinging the Fulham goalkeeper's arms.
While he worried for Chelsea, Sam also worried for Fulham.
With these 2 attacking midfielders taking the ga by the scruff of the neck, the fans across this stadium had their hearts in their throat for most of this first half and then incredibly, despite the venom filled in this half, it ended in a goalless draw.
The first half had no goals in it but still, it was exceedingly exciting.
It was a half for the ages.
Truly, it was the London Rumble.
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