Former Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb marked an emotional return to football with a goal, eight months after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The 30-year-old, who now plays for French side Lille, contemplated retirement last year after being hospitalised due to a heart attack in June.
However, Bentaleb completed his remarkable recovery from the life-threatening encounter on Sunday by scoring the opener in Lille’s 2-0 win at Rennes.
The Algerian International was brought onto the pitch by boss Bruno Genesio with 15 minutes left on the clock, and the two sides locked in a stalemate.
It took Bentaleb just four minutes to mark his heartwarming return with a goal at Roazhon Park, reacting quickest after a strong Brice Samba save to squeeze the ball home at the back post.
He then raced over to the Lille bench, which was overcome with joy, to celebrate with his team-mates and coaching staff.
Nabil Bentaleb scored four minutes in to his return to football after suffering a cardiac arrest
The former Spurs star was hospitalised back in June and advised to not take to the pitch again
The celebrations of his strike were emotional as he was smothered by team-mates and staff
The victory was later completed by former Arsenal and Middlesbrough attacker Chuba Akpom four minutes from time.
‘It’s worthy of a film,’ said Lille manager Genesio. ‘He deserved it, because I don’t believe in luck, he believed in himself. It’s an incredible, wonderful story.
‘At the time, I didn’t see who had scored. It was only when I saw him running that I realised it was him. My staff got up.
‘Nabil’s goal put us on cloud nine, it’s hard to describe. It could be a moment that will mark the end of our season, that will remain engraved in the history of the club, of this season – and in Nabil’s mind, of course.
‘It’s difficult to talk about it, because it’s quite improbable and incredible to imagine that it could happen like that. It’s a beautiful story.’
In late June, Lille confirmed that Bentaleb had been hospitalised due to an ‘illness’ and revealed he was being taken care of at Lille University Hospital.
In the days that followed, it came to light that the midfielder had suffered a cardiac arrest and had to have a pacemaker fitted to stabilise his heart.
Bentaleb was advised to step away from the game, but instead opted to follow in the footsteps of Christian Eriksen by showing extraordinary resilience to return to the elite level.
Bentaleb only returned to Lille training on Thursday, eight months after having a heart attack
The midfielder was serenaded by Lille fans at full-time as he celebrated an inrcredible night
He follows in the footsteps of Christian Eriksen who made a sensational return to the sport after having a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020
The Algerian midfielder only returned to full team training on Thursday, but he was still trusted by Genesio to play minutes against Rennes, and it paid off.
‘It was an explosion of huge emotion, you can see it,’ Lille defender Bafode Diakite said when recalling the goal. ‘Already when he started training with us again, it was something.
‘But for him to offer the first goal that got us past Rennes, there is nothing more beautiful. Have I already experienced that? No, this goes beyond football.
‘It’s the story of a life, we can only be happy. We don’t even know if he’s going to sleep tonight, it’s so huge. We’re all happy for him.
‘The supporters were also behind him, it was a kind of thank you to go see them. Nabil remains reserved. He was happy in any case.’
Bentaleb started his young career in the academy set-up at Lille before he joined Spurs’ youth ranks in 2012. He then earned his senior debut the following year.
The Algerian made 66 appearances in total for the club before signing for Schalke in a permanent deal in 2017 following a successful season-long loan.
Bentaleb has represented Algeria at four major tournaments and earned 66 caps for his country
The Algerian made 66 appearances in total for Tottenham before joining Schalke in 2017
He scored 19 goals in 107 appearances for the club and returned to the Premier League for a brief loan spell at Newcastle United in 2020.
Bentaleb eventually left Schalke and moved to Ligue 1 outfit Angers for one season before settling on a switch to Lille, his current club, last summer.
Earning 66 caps for his country, Bentaleb has represented Algeria at the 2014 World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, 2017 and 2023.