Despite receiving a red card to leave the field in Al Ittihad’s defeat against Al Hilal in the first leg of the AFC Champions League quarter-finals, midfielder N’Golo Kante still received applause from fans present in the stadiums. stand.
In the early morning of March 6, Kante’s Al Ittihad had a match against fellow Saudi Arabian team Al Hilal in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League. This is the second confrontation between the two teams in just 4 days, when last weekend the defending Saudi Pro League champions suffered a crushing 1-3 defeat to Al Hilal, the team currently leading the rankings and moving towards the championship. enemy.
In the rematch, Al Ittihad once again held a grudge against Al-Hilal, receiving a 0-2 defeat thanks to two quick goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic (40′) and Salem Al Dawsari (42′). Not only that, Al Ittihad also suffered a disadvantage when key midfielder Kante received a red card and left the field in the 66th minute when VAR stepped in and determined that the 32-year-old French player had to be sent off for a dangerous foul. .
This is the second red card in Kante’s career, after the first red card he received in the 2014/15 season when he played for French club Caen. After being kicked out, the former Chelsea player left the field dejected, but he still received applause from the fans present on the field, giving them applause to encourage him.
In addition, on social networks Kante also received a lot of encouragement from fans.
- “I really feel sorry for him.”
- “The man suffered in this match.”
- “Even when Kanté was sent off, he still received a round of applause from the opposing team. That’s a huge respect.”
- “That was a dangerous foul situation, worthy of a red card. I’m very sorry for Kante, he was too greedy for the ball.”
Kante did not receive a red card during his time playing for Leicester and Chelsea in the Premier League. The 32-year-old French player only received 31 yellow cards after 222 appearances in the Premier League.
Kante and his Al Ittihad teammates will return to domestic action on Friday evening when they take on Al Akhdoud at King Abdullah Sports City. Currently, the defending champion no longer has a chance to defend the throne when it falls to 7th on the Saudi Pro League rankings, 25 points behind top team Al Hilal.
