Benjamin Mendy: Lorient's ex-France defender plays first game in two years

Benjamin Mendy made 75 appearances for Manchester City between 2017 and 2021

Former France defender Benjamin Mendy played his first professional football game for more than two years on Sunday.

The 29-year-old left-back came off the bench during French side Lorient's 2-2 draw with Monaco in Ligue 1.

Mendy's last game was for Manchester City in August 2021, shortly before he was charged with rape.

Lorient signed Mendy after he was cleared in July. A separate trial in January cleared him of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault.

Mendy was suspended by City after being charged in August 2021, and left the club when his contract expired this summer, having been signed for £52m from Monaco in 2017.

Lorient agreed a two-year contract with Mendy in July, five days after the 2018 World Cup winner was found not guilty of raping a woman and attempting to rape another.

Former Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun came off the bench to give Monaco a 2-1 lead on 68 minutes with his first goal for his new club.

Mendy then came on two minutes later for his Lorient debut and they equalised deep into stoppage time through on-loan Bournemouth midfielder Romain Faivre.