Eight months after suffering cardiac arrest in June 2024, Algeria international Nabil Bentaleb enjoyed a dream return to Ligue 1 action as he broke the deadlock for Lille in their 2-0 victory against Stade Rennais.
Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Omar Marmoush delivered a statement showing -- including a 14-minute hat-trick -- as Manchester City dispatched Newcastle United.
Last June 18, Bentaleb was enjoying a casual kickaround in a small-sided game with family and friends when he suffered a heart attack, and was subsequently placed in an induced coma.
Initially, there were doubts about his longer-term health and career, with doctors at Lille University Hospital ultimately recommending that the 30-year-old be fitted with a pacemaker to more effectively regulate his heartbeat. Despite recommendations to abandon his football career, Bentaleb remained determined to play again, and eventually he returned to full training with Lille last week.
So impressed was Lille head coach Bruno Genesio that he deemed fit to introduce the Algeria international after 76 minutes of their Ligue 1 fixture in Rennes, with the hosts down to 10 men after the 74th-minute dismissal of Cameroon's Christopher Wooh. The centre-back was given a red card for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity by handball.
Brice Samba saved the ensuing penalty -- Nigeria's Chuba Akpom seeing a weak effort blocked -- but Genesio, nevertheless, sensed an opportunity and turned to Bentaleb, who became the first player in France to take to the field with a pacemaker.
Bentalab needed just four minutes to mark his return with a goal, beating Samba when he touched home at the back post after the Congolese stopper had parried the ball into his path from a corner. The North African marked his goal with a delirious celebration, running towards the bench and the club's medical staff to acknowledge those professionals who had supported him and helped him make his comeback.
"Honestly, in the moment, I didn't see who had scored," Genesio said after the game. "It was when I saw him running over that I recognised that he'd scored, and my staff all got up. We were up in the clouds for a while; these things are hard to explain. These are strong emotions for everyone. He never let go. He believed in himself, and he believed in the people who looked after him."
Elder brother Karim Bentaleb, who intervened to administer a chest massage to Nabil in the seconds after his cardiac arrest last year, also paid tribute to the defensive midfielder.
"Making his comeback was already a great thing; being in the squad was already something; and scoring, it's a little nod to life," he told RMC Sport. "Frankly, it's hard to explain the emotion. There was joy, sadness, a little flashback of what happened, a little bit of everything mixed together.
Six minutes after Bentaleb's goal, Akpom scored to secure a 2-0 victory that lifted Les Dogues to fifth on 38 points. Akpom had seen an earlier effort ruled out for offside, but now he has two goals in two Ligue 1 fixtures since signing from Ajax Amsterdam at the end of the January transfer window.
Bentaleb will surely require time to truly discover the rhythm and sharpness required at Lille, but, for now, he can savor an exceptional comeback brink that surely hadn't appeared possible last summer.
The midfielder's return prompted celebrations in the Lille neighborhood of Wazemmes, where he grew up, with fans recognising the 30-year-old's strength of character. "I went from everything to nothing," Bentalab said on DAZN. "I went from the stands, watching my friends, without knowing if I would ever be part of this adventure, to the announcement overnight that I'd potentially be in the squad. On the corner, I had a feeling that I would score. It's my first goal with Lille. I played all of last season and didn't score, but it had to happen like that."
Bentalab could now play a critical role as Lille look to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, and he might return to international action with Algeria playing World Cup qualifiers vs. Botswana and Mozambique in March.
Also in France, Bentaleb's international colleague Amine Gouiri scored a brace as Marseille defeated Saint-Etienne 5-1 -- his first goals since arriving from Rennes -- while Nigerian wunderkind George Ilenikhena scored twice in AS Monaco's 7-1 evisceration of Nantes.
In the Premier League, Marmoush announced himself to the U.K. audience and proved why he has the potential to rank among the top flight's next superstars.
A €75 million signing from Eintracht Frankfurt during the January transfer window, the versatile forward arrived with the weight of expectation, and into a team struggling for form and consistency.
City are also a team in transition, with their dismal form in the latter months of 2024 preceding a January transfer window in which Pep Guardiola oversaw €218 million of spending on additions for his besieged champions.
Marmoush made a bright debut against Chelsea, and produced a promising showing in the narrow FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient, but he was anonymous as Arsenal rolled City 5-1 at the start of February, and made only a brief cameo in the UEFA Champions League defeat by Real Madrid.
The 4-0 demolition of Newcastle United was arguably City's most convincing showing of the season, and it truly represented Marmoush's "arrival" in English football, as he broke his duck and demonstrated the goal-scoring form that made him such a threat in Germany.
The Egypt international served a signal of his threat during the early exchanges, tearing away from Kieran Trippier before firing hopefully towards goal.
His next attempt opened the scoring, capitalising on Trippier's poor reading of Ederson's long pass forward, measuring his run, and chipping over the advanced Martin Dúbravka, who realised too late that he was not going to beat the new arrival to the ball. This was a glimpse of the forward's ability to anticipate his opponents' behavior, judge the flight of the ball, and sniff goal-scoring opportunities, all of which combine to make him such a potent threat.
Five minutes later, he had a second goal, beating Dubravka at his near post after receiving the ball from Ilkay Gündogan, beating the offside trap, and cutting onto his right foot to evade Trippier's attentions and forge a shooting opportunity.
Soon after, he had his hat-trick.
With Newcastle caught between the desire to reduce the deficit, and consciousness of their mortality in light of City's vibrant goal threat, Marmoush finished calmly after being picked out by Savinho's fine cross.
"The way we played, we remembered what we were and what we have not been this season," Guardiola said after the victory. "Marmoush did really well in Germany, a player with his quality and pace, I was pleased with the way he scored.
"Against Orient he missed chances, but today in the final third he was really good. We knew sooner or later he would score goals; he is a good finisher. Of course, he has to improve, but now we [will] see how he handles the compliments."
City now face an ominous trip to Madrid, to play Real in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Wednesday, and they may need a repeat performance from Marmoush if they are to oust one of the Champions League favorites and begin to reverse their fortunes in Europe's premier club competition.
The weekend was memorable for the Premier League's African stars, with Mohamed Salah, Beto, Calvin Bassey, Dango Ouattara, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Yankuba Minteh all scoring.