A Debut to Forget: Chris Smalling Scores Own Goal, Gets Sent Off in Saudi Pro League Debut for Al Fayha
Former Manchester United and AS Roma defender Chris Smalling had a torrid start to his Saudi Pro League career. The 34-year-old Englishman played in Al Fayha’s 5-0 defeat to Al Raed over the weekend.
Smalling’s misfortunes started in the 6th minute when he turned the ball into his own net, leading to Al Fayha going 1-0 down in the early stages of the match. The hosts seemed to succumb to the pressure and conceded a second one in the 17th minute, with Mohammed Fouzair’s left-footed shot finding its way to the bottom right corner.
Al Fayha struggled to get into the game and were agressive to the point of causing two Al Raed substitutions due to injury in the first half. Despite the injuries, Al Raed had the game wrapped up by half time when Karim El Berkaoui scored the third goal in the 6th minute of first half injury time.
In the second half, Al Fayha made some changes to try and gain back some control. However, in the 51st minute, Smalling conceded a foul that was initially recorded as a yellow card offence. However, after a VAR review, it was upgraded to a red card and Chris Smalling received his marching orders.
With a man down, Al Fayha struggled in the match and conceded two more goals in the 60th and 66th minute. Smalling made the switch to the Saudi Pro League late in the summer transfer window after being deemed surplus to requirements at AS Roma. The Englishman will hope he can put in better performances once he finishes serving his suspension.
