Liverpool’s Sadio Mane gives Senegal winning start at AFCON
Morroco defeat Ghana in Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon
Sadio Mane and Sofiane Boufal both scored to give Africa Cup of Nations title contenders Senegal and Morocco winning starts to their campaigns in Cameroon.
Mane, who switched to Liverpool in 2016 after two years with Southampton, netted a penalty seven minutes into added time to deliver a fortunate 1-0 Group B victory over Zimbabwe in Bafoussam.
A few hours later it was the turn of Boufal, now at French Ligue 1 outfit Angers after four years with Southampton, to score and earn Morocco a 1-0 Group C win over Ghana in Yaounde.
In another Group B match, Guinea edged Malawi 1-0 through an Issiaga Sylla goal after 35 minutes in the 30 degrees Celsius heat of western city Bafoussam.
Debutants Comoros lost 1-0 to Gabon in the other Group C match in Yaounde.
The results maintained a run of one-goal victories in a tournament that finally kicked off on Sunday after being postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cameroon came from behind in the tournament opener to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 and Cape Verde struggled to a 1-0 win over 10-man Ethiopia in the other Group A clash.
On Tuesday, record seven-time champions Egypt confront three-time winners Nigeria in the northwestern city of Garoua in what promises to be a highlight of the 36-match first round.