‘I knew I was going to score’ – Nabil Bentaleb on his ‘film-worthy’ Lille return following cardiac arrest

“It’s film-worthy,” said Bruno Genesio after Nabil Bentaleb (30) netted a goal on his first match back following a miraculous recovery from a cardiac arrest last summer. 

Bentaleb suffered the cardiac arrest during a five-a-side match with friends back in July and was told soon after that his professional career as a footballer was almost certainly over. However, the Algeria international has – over the past months – fought his way back. Early last week, he was given the green light to resume his playing career and on Thursday, he finally made a return to first-team training. 

Having maintained his fitness through a personal regime, he was deemed ready to be a part of the squad to face Stade Rennais on Sunday night. Not only did he travel to Brittany, he was included on the bench, and then came on, and then scored, stabbing home Lille’s opener late on as they went on to beat Rennes 2-0. 

“It’s worthy of a film,” said Genesio in a post-match press conference, attended by Get French Football News. “I didn’t even see it! Once we saw him running towards us, we understood. It’s still hard to describe. We were on cloud nine. Whatever happens, it will be a moment forever engraved in our season. It is such a beautiful story.” 

Bentaleb foresaw scoring return

“It is a special moment for me,” said an emotional Bentaleb, speaking to DAZN. “I didn’t know that I was going to come on but on the corner, I knew that I was going to score. It had to happen like that; it is incredible. These are images that will stick with me for my whole life. There are things that you don’t forget,” added the Lille midfielder. 

It was his first goal for the club since joining in the summer of 2023 from SCO Angers and it is a goal that will not be forgotten any time soon, especially not by Bentaleb. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle