Ex-Man Utd star Chris Smalling 'does a Jonathan Woodgate' in horror debut for new club
Former Manchester United defender Chris Smalling endured a nightmare debut for Al-Fayha in the Saudi Pro League as he scored an own goal before being sent off in a 5-0 thrashing
Chris Smalling had a nightmare debut for Al-Fayha, scoring an own goal and getting sent off in a 5-0 thrashing - with fans drawing parallels to Jonathan Woodgate's infamous first game for Real Madrid.
The former Manchester United defender joined the Saudi Pro League side earlier this month on a two-year contract after spending five years with Roma.
His debut on Sunday (September 15) against Al-Raed got off to the worst possible start when he scored an own goal just six minutes into the match.
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The 34-year-old failed to clear a low cross into his six-yard box, inadvertently directing the ball into his own net. Things went from bad to worse for Smalling and his team as they conceded two more goals before half-time.
Hoping to avoid further humiliation in the second half, Smalling was shown a straight red card just 10 minutes after the restart, marking what is arguably one of the worst debuts in football history, reports the Mirror.
Being reduced to 10 men didn't help his team, who conceded another two goals in what ended up being the club's worst ever defeat in the Saudi Pro League. Smalling's disastrous debut led to comparisons on social media with Jonathan Woodgate's similarly calamitous first game for Real Madrid in 2005.
The former Spurs and Newcastle defender scored a worldie of an own goal on his debut at the Santiago Bernabeu before being dismissed thanks to a second yellow card. Luckily for Woodgate, Madrid fought back to defeat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 thanks to a goal from Robinho, and a Raul brace.
One social media user joked about Smalling's pre-match tasks by commenting: "He probably saw Woodgate's Real Madrid debut video before kickoff" while another sarcastically added: "Emphatic finish here from Chris Smalling. Got sent off later as well. What a debut".
It's now three losses in a row for Al-Fayha who've conceded a staggering 10 goals in their opening three league games of the season.
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