Rise of a Football God

It was a Saturday evening in Barcelona.

5th April, 2026…

The return leg of the La Liga fixture against Real Betis.

These days, weeks precisely, FC Barcelona was unplayable, unreal.

They were on a generational run of form.

To most FC Barcelona fans, the notion of their main striker being Robert Lewandowski was as ancient as Slim Shady ruling the world of rap in the early 2000s. This season, Sam was doing the work even better than the real striker.

This FC Barcelona side was just a well-oiled machine firing on all cylinders, a machine that could not be stopped, churning with peak efficiency.

Hansi Flick football was gold, unplayable, untouchable.

And with Sam, that menace, they were unbeatable.

(La Liga:)

(Barcelona – Real Betis)

(Date: 5th April, 2026)

In the first leg of this fixture, just a few months after Anthony made the switch from Manchester United to the Spanish La Liga, plying his trade for Real Betis, they actually managed to play the Catalan giants to a draw.

On that game, Anthony was a menace to the Barca defense.

Could they do it again? Today?

Well, the questions would answer themselves in a few hours.

The Real Betis squad came to the Spotify Camp Nou in high spirits. Afterall, despite coming to the stadium of the most in-form team in Spain, they were no slouch either, they were in a good run of form.

They were on a run of 5 games without a loss, 3 wins.

And so, Real Betis came confident.

Like expected, both teams lined up with their best formation.

For Barcelona, Hansi Flicks stuck with his 4-2-3-1 formation, Ter Stegen between the posts; Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo, and Jules Kound in defense; Pedri and Frankie De Jong in midfield.

As for attack, Gavi took the attacking midfield role, Lamine Yamal playing to his right as the right winger, Raphinha on his left as the left winger, while Barca's sharpest weapon, Sam stayed up front leading the line as the striker.

As for Real Betis? They started with the same 4-2-3-1 formation.

Adrian started in between the posts as the goalkeeper; Perraud, Natan, Bartra, and Ruibal started in defense; Altimira and Cardoso started in midfield, while the attack consisted of familiar faces like expected.

Giovanni Lo Celso played in attacking midfield, while to his right was the G.O.A.T, Anthony. To Lo Celso's right was Fornals, and up ahead leading the line as the striker was Hernandez.

The atmosphere at the Spotify Camp Nou was electric.

The home fans were loud but not just them, the traveling away fans were charged with endless energy. They clearly had hopes of creating an upset.

Could they?

FWEEEE!

The referee's whistle cut through the clamor like the edge of a blade, and then, the action started on the pitch.

The first half was a bloodbath.

Both sides recklessly went on the attack, throwing themselves at each other recklessly in a game of end-to-end football, attacking relentlessly.

Of course, it was extremely exciting for the neutral onlookers.

For the fans connected to both teams though, it was nothing short of nerve-wracking.

The sheer amount of shots on target, the sheer amount of goalkeeper saves, both goalkeeper were in top form.

The game was exciting but the first game didn't come till later in the first half.

Heck, it came in additional time of the first half.

And of course, it came from the King in Catalan, Samuel Moses.

It originated from a corner kick.

Pedri played a short pass to Gavi who stood with him close to the corner, and as he charged out from the corner flag, a Real Betis player quickly closing them down, Gavi left the ball to his Spanish counterpart.

As chaos started in the Real Betis 18-yard box, Pedri took one last look inside the box, and then…

Bam!

He hit it.

A delicate, silky, devilishly accurate cross.

It was a literal piece of art as the ball floated through the air, creating an arc as it curved, diving towards the other end of the box… where a few players in blue and red lurked. And one of them was… Sam.

Thud!

Kicking the ground, Sam leaped high into the air.

And for a brief moment, he seemed to be floating, suspended in the air.

"…!"

Time seemed to freeze.

In that brief moment in the air, Sam seemed to turn into a prime Cristiano Ronaldo and as the ball descended, he twisted his head swiftly after the ball.

Bam!

The ball hit his head and with the last-second twist of his head, he directed it, planting an accurate header towards the top left corner.

Adrian, Real Betis' goalkeeper reacted, diving but it was too late, and dangerous.

At the last moment, the goalkeeper recoiled, protecting himself as he crashed into the goalpost. He barely protected his head.

And the outcome?

The ball nestled into the net.

"GOALLLL…!!!"

The Spotify Camp Nou erupted, turning into a cauldron of noise.

What… a goal!

The commentators went haywire, going lyrical as they described the goal, screaming shrilly at the top of their lungs.

That goal was magical, but it was not the only goal.

In the 2nd half, Barca started an onslaught. Sam got the 2nd goal, setting the tempo and this time he lashed into a Lamine Yamal cross, scoring an incredible bicycle kick goal, another highlight in this game.

He scored in the 55th minute of the game.

55 minutes, 2-0…

Pedri found the net in the 61st minute, sealing the game but Barca was not satisfied yet. Alejandro Balde scored the 4th goal of the game.

Running all the way from defense with the ball, the attacking left back dribbled through Real Betis players like they were not there and suddenly one-on-one with the goalkeeper, he kept his composure to score an amazing goal.

"GOALLLLL…!!!"

The energy in this stadium exploded, turning into a supernova!

BARCA… was unplayable.

After 90 minutes, the game ended 4-0 in favor of Barcelona, and Sam claimed another man of the match award.