Rise of a Football God-Chapter 294: Debut game; against Girona [1]

(ESPN News:)

(Samuel Moses makes his debut for FC Barcelona! What will the young Nigerian bring to La Liga? Can he bring his form from the premier league here?)

…

(SuperSport:)

(The Nigerian Zidane in Spain! Image=)

(Samuel Moses finally makes his much-anticipated debut in the La Liga game against Girona. The original Zidane was made in the Santiago Bernabeu, can a new Zidane grace Spain to rule in the Spotify Camp Nou? We’ll know in a few hours:)

…

(La Liga:)

(Girona – Barcelona)

(Date: 25th August, 2025)

The publicity around Sam’s debut in the Spanish La Liga was explosive.

Not just ESPN and Supersport, a whole lot of prominent news channels, including TV shows carried on the hype, fanning the flames that billowed in the wake of his FC Barcelona debut in Girona.

Barcelona didn’t hold back either as they also fanned the flames. In the official club image edit in the build-up to the game, Sam’s picture was the poster-image for the fixture, showcasing FC Barcelona’s intent to push him to the forefront.

All of this hype put a lot of pressure on Sam’s shoulders in the buildup to the game. But by now, Sam was more or less used to pressure already.

From the suburbs of Nigeria and Africa, playing in the big CAF champions league stages, to the elite stadiums in England playing in the premier league, to even the FIFA Club World Cup against one of the most frightening Manchester City sides ever, Sam had faced pressure and still performed.

This was why he approached this game with a cool mind.

To him, it was just another game, another game where the fans expected him to perform. Another game where he also expected himself to perform.

In the build-up to the game, at first, Robert Lewandowski showed concern for Sam, fearing that the pressure would weigh him down but despite all the pressure, Sam’s intense focus and laser-focused training regime shocked the striker.

One look in Sam’s eyes and the Polish striker knew. ’This guy…, he’s not feeling the pressure’.

’Or more precisely, he’s taking the pressure as fuel’.

Just like that, D-day arrived.

25th August, 2025…

In a cold evening in Girona, the 2 La Liga teams entered the pitch.

For this game, Sam didn’t have to travel far with the FC Barcelona squad. Afterall, it was a game played here in Catalonia. Explore new worlds at novelbuddy

Girona were FC Barcelona’s neighbors here in Catalonia, it was a derby game and this added even more venom to Sam’s debut game.

Both teams approached this game with their strongest lineups.

The home side, Girona started in their regular 4-2-3-1 formation, starting with a 4-man defensive lineup of Blind, Lopez, Juanpe, and Martinez even as their goalpost was protected by their stalwart goalkeeper, Gazzaniga.

The 2-man midfield ahead of the defense comprised of Martin and Herrera, while the 4-man attack ahead comprised Gil, Donny Van de Beek, Asprilla, and Groeneveld who started as the striker for this team.

It was a powerful lineup, but Barcelona’s was stronger.

Starting in a similar 4-2-3-1 formation, Barcelona’s stalwart quadruple defense comprised of Alejandro Balde in left back, Pau Cubarsi and Ronald Araujo in central defense, and then Jules Kounde in right back.

Inaki Pena started in between the posts as Ter Stegen was still recovering from his injury.

The 2-man midfield duo ahead of the defense comprised Pedri and Marc Casado, while the attack comprised of Raphinha in left wing, Sam in attacking midfield, Lamine Yamal as the right winger, and Lewandowski starting as the striker.

It was a fearsome lineup of superstars.

FWEEE!

The game started.

Immediately after the referee’s whistle sounded to kickstart the game, FC Barcelona kicked off the game and instantly, it was clear that they were the superior side as Girona were forced to defend.

For the first few minutes of this game, FC Barcelona hoarded possession, pressuring their opponents as they were forced to defend.

This was despite the fact that they were playing in away ground.

Despite the loud boos by the home supporters, FC Barcelona played superior composed and controlled football, pushing the opposition to the edge.

On all sides of the pitch, FC Barcelona was stacked.

At the base of midfield, Pedri played as the controller while Marc Casado fulfilled his role in this team as the destroyer.

When in possession, Pedri’s flair and touch enabled him to wriggle through the aggressive Girona press like a fish through water, effortlessly weaving his way out of trouble like a Weaver born of a Divine Lineage in the world of Nightmares.

And in those few times that Girona won back possession, they were unable to do anything tangible with it simply because Barca’s defense was a rock.

Going through the middle was hard as they ran into the destroyer in Marc Casado. The young Spaniard was not scared of getting his hands dirty as he wrestled with the opposition, jumping into tackles with gusto to win back the ball.

His style was still rash and unrefined but it was effective nonetheless.

Jules Kounde in the right was like a sledgehammer, abusing his incredible physicality to shut out Girona’s left winger completely even as in possession, he occasionally bombed down the right side of the pitch to support Lamine Yamal.

On the left, his compatriot, Alejandro Balde was even more imperious in attack. The young Spaniard played like a predator with wings.

His silky dribbling cut the Girona press open again and again.

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The whole Barca team was playing at an elite level, the attack was not excluded. On the left, Raphina’s energy was running Girona to the ground while on the right, Lamine Yamal turned his man inside out like neatly made pounded yam.

As for Barca’s striker, Robert Lewandowski, the goal poacher was always at alert, doing his bit in the build-up play even as he waited for his one chance to pounce and score the first goal like a predator stalking prey.

With the whole Barca team playing so well, Sam followed their rhythm, playing a tidy game also.

But in a game with his teammates playing so well, he could do just slightly more than the bare minimum, he never got the opportunity to shine.

It was not a bad thing though; FC Barcelona was still dominating.

Girona tried their best to limit Barca’s chances in this game despite their dominance, using a low block to frustrate the reigning champions but in the end, quality shines through.

"GOALLLL…!!!" The away fans roared in ecstasy.

In the 31st minute of this game, the deadlock was broken.

The Polish hitman, Robert Lewandowski struck!