A happy occasion could have turned tragic when Manchester City came from behind to defeat Aston Villa 3-2 on the last day of the season to win the Premier League. Ilkay Gundogan scored the game's final two goals to secure victory for his team. While tens of thousands of supporters descended on the ground after the final whistle, Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo assisted a young kid who had been separated from his father on his own.
According to a report on manchestereveningnews.co.uk, 10-year-old Ollie Gordon, who has autism and other problems, followed fans onto the pitch after the Man City versus Aston Villa match, losing his father in the process. Joao Cancelo acted quickly to save the youngster from the throng. The family has already written him a letter to express their gratitude for his acts.
Ollie Gordon's mom Lauren while speaking to MEN Sport said, "He took off running, he’s got autism and not aware of dangers or anything so got excited and started running. He goes to the stadium with his dad quite a lot, especially recently. I was watching on the telly and saw Lee running across the pitch but not Ollie. I was panicking and trying to get hold of his dad. .He saw the Aston Villa keeper getting hit a foot away, you can see him on the videos. It scared him a bit and he saw Cancelo and headed towards him.
While showering more praise on Joao Cancelo, Lauren added, "He said if it wasn’t for Cancelo, who didn’t just hug him, he kept his arms around him which gave his dad time to get there. If he hadn’t, especially the size of the men. He’s pressed up against Cancelo’s chest with all these men crushing up against him. It could have been a completely different story, a little boy on his own on the pitch. That man should have been running around screaming and celebrating this win, but instead took time to stop and look after a little boy".
According to the article, Ollie wrote to Joao Cancelo to express his gratitude for his compassion. Lauren remarked, "He used to be his second favourite player, but now he's unquestionably his first. There are no words to express my gratitude to Cancelo. He probably doesn't realise how significant it was "..
