Al-Ahli star, Ivorian international Franck Kessié, suffered a "bloody" injury during his team's match against Al-Ittihad on Friday evening as part of the Saudi league's ninth round. In the 13th minute, during a high ball, Kessié jumped to get the ball inside Al-Ittihad's penalty area but collided with the head of Brazilian-Italian defender Luiz Felipe, who was also trying to reach the ball.
Kessié fell to the ground with blood flowing from his head, while the referee refused to award a penalty to Al-Ahli, asserting that the Ivorian player's injury occurred from a natural collision with the opposing player. After receiving treatment for 4 minutes, the Ivorian star returned to continue playing but fell to the ground again in the 19th minute. Nonetheless, he insisted on completing the match.
Al-Ahli reaped the rewards of Kessié's sacrifice when he scored the first goal for "Al-Raqi" in the 31st minute. The first half ended with Al-Ahli leading 1-0.
