Kante's Comeback Thunder: 123-Day Drought Ends as Al-Ittihad Triumphs
26 January 2026
Kante Breaks Drought with a Striking Return
The French star N'Golo Kanté rediscovered his scoring touch for Al-Ittihad, firing a superb goal against Al-Akhdoud in the Saudi Pro League after a 123-day drought.
He added the second goal of the match just minutes before the end of the first half, in the 18th round of the competition.
Kanté's return to scoring ends a 123-day drought and marks his second goal of the season, following a late strike on September 25 that helped the team beat Al-Najma 1-0 with a rocket-like finish in stoppage time.
Kante 10/10
While this is the second goal for the former Chelsea and Leicester City midfielder, it also raises his tally to 10 goals and 10 assists in the league for Al-Ittihad, giving him 20 goal involvements in 104 appearances, along with a notable stack of yellow cards (10) in that span.
Before today, he had 9 goals and 10 assists; after this match, 10 goals and 10 assists—20 involvements in total, underscoring his continued impact in the squad.
PUNCHLINE: 123 days without a goal? Even my calendar is jealous of Kanté’s timing. Punchline 2: If droughts could be paid off in rockets, he just telegraphed the end of the season in style.
