Portugal Colonial - Mendy plays first game in two years after sex trial acquittal

The 29-year-old France international and former Manchester City player was introduced 70 minutes into his new club's 2-2 draw with the Ligue 1 leaders.

Lorient were trailing 2-1 when Mendy came on, but the defender played a part in Romain Faivre's equalising goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time in Brittany.

His last competitive game before Sunday was back in August 2021 in the Premier League for City against Tottenham Hotspur.

Mendy's acquittal two months ago ended a three-year court process.

The former Marseille and Monaco left-back signed for Lorient on a two-year deal a week after his trial ended.

The player, who would have faced a lengthy jail term if convicted, had previously been cleared in January of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault following a six-month trial.

Jurors in that trial had been unable to reach a verdict on two other counts, triggering the retrial.

Mendy, whose contract with English and European champions City expired at the end of June, denied all the charges against him.

Mendy has 10 international caps and was part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup.

Monaco, whose goals came from Aleksandr Golovin and Folarin Balogun, are a point clear at the top of the table despite the draw.

Surprise package Brest are second after coming from behind to win 2-1 away at Reims later on Sunday.

Marseille would have gone level on points with Monaco with a win at home to Toulouse but were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw, a result that was greeted by loud jeers from their fans at the Velodrome.

Marcelino's Marseille side go to Ajax in the Europa League in midweek before visiting Paris Saint-Germain, who went down 3-2 at home to Nice on Friday, their first defeat under new coach Luis Enrique.

Sunday's late game sees bottom club Lyon play their first match since former Italian international Fabio Grosso replaced Laurent Blanc as coach, as they entertain Le Havre.

M.Gameiro--PC