Al Hilal defeated Al Ittihad by 2-0 in the AFC Quarterfinal

N'Golo Kante has played hundreds of matches in the Premier League, never receiving a single red card. Now, only a few months in Saudi Arabia, Kante has to be sent off the field on Tuesday (05th March 2024) at Kingdom Arena in the first leg of the 2023/2024 Asian Champions League quarter-finals. Al Hilal appeared superior in this match and they secured a 2-0 win through goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic (40') and Salem Aldawsari (42'). So, when they were 0-2 behind and wanted to score a goal back, Al Ittihad was forced to play with 10 players on the field. The 32-year-old French midfielder was given a straight red card by the referee for a hard foul on Kalidou Koulibaly in the 66th minute.

Initially, the referee did not give a heavy penalty however, after VAR intervened, it was decided that the midfielder foul was worthy of a straight red card. Seeing Kante leave the field because of a red card was a strange sight. Because, throughout his career in the Premier League with Leicester City and Chelsea, Kante never received a red card once.

This record is fantastic, considering that Kante is a defensive midfielder whose job is to tackle and stop opponent attacks. This proves Kante's high level of discipline on the field and this red card was only the second red card in Kante's career. He received his first red card when he was just starting his career about ten years ago in France. At that time Kante played for Caen, only two years into his professional career. He was shown a red card in the 0-1 defeat to Rennes. Now, Kante received a second red card while playing in the Saudi Arabian League, specifically on the Asian Champions League stage.