Ex-Tottenham and Newcastle man scores on return from cardiac arrest

Updated: 18 Feb, 2025 • 0 • min read

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Ex-Tottenham and Newcastle man scores on return from cardiac arrest

Lille midfielder Nabil Bentaleb scored four minutes in to his long-awaited return to football after suffering a cardiac arrest last year.

The 30-year-old was hospitalised due to a heart attack last June, and was fitted with a pacemaker-defibrillator to stabilise his cardiac activity.

He was advised to step away from the game, but instead opted to follow in the footsteps of Christian Eriksen, who made a sensational return to the sport after having a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

After eight months of rehabilitation, the French Football Federation finally cleared Bentaleb to make his long-anticipated comeback last Wednesday.

The Algerian returned to training on Thursday and was named as a substitute for Lille's trip to Rennes on Sunday evening.

READ MORE: Sergio Agüero recalls terrifying moments suffering from chest pains

With the score locked at 0-0, the moment arrived for Bentaleb as he was called upon to replace Ngal'ayel Mukau in the 76th minute.

Just four minutes later, Bentaleb marked his heartwarming return with a goal at Roazhon Park, scoring from the rebound after Brice Samba had saved Chuba Akpom's header.

An emotional Bentaleb then ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates and coaching staff.

Things got even better in the 86th minute, with Akpom scoring Lille's second to secure a 2-0 victory on Bentaleb's return.

February 16: Nabil Bentaleb's day 🇩🇿🥹 pic.twitter.com/bVkDukKeFn
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) February 16, 2025

Speaking after the match, Lille boss Bruno Genesio said:

It's worthy of a film. He deserved it because I don't believe in luck; he believed in himself. It's an incredible, wonderful story.

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.

Bentaleb started his career in the academy set-up at Lille before he joined Tottenham's youth ranks in 2012.

He went on to make 66 appearances for Spurs before signing for Schalke 04 in a permanent deal in 2017 following a successful season-long loan.

During his time with the Bundesliga club, Bentaleb returned to the Premier League for a brief loan spell at Newcastle United in 2020.

Bentaleb eventually left Schalke and made a switch to Ligue 1 with Angers for one season before returning to boyhood club Lille last summer.

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