Christian Eriksen experienced a much more joyous start to Denmark’s European Championship campaign this time around. The Manchester United midfielder scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw against Slovenia on Sunday. This marked his return to the Euros after suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s first match in the 2021 tournament.

In the Group C clash in Stuttgart, Eriksen calmly placed the ball into the corner of the net in the 17th minute. Slovenia later equalized in the 77th minute through Erik Janza, whose shot deflected heavily past Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Exactly 1,100 days had passed since Eriksen collapsed on the field at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen during a game against Finland, an incident that had shocked spectators and required urgent medical attention. He made his comeback to the sport in 2022 with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and, at 32 years old, remains a key player for Denmark, who aim to build on their impressive history at the European Championship finals.

However, Eriksen’s efforts were completely thwarted when Slovenia’s Erik Janza scored a decisive goal to level the score at 1-1.