Ayoub El Kaabi's Spectacular Finish Secures The Atlas Lions' Triumph Against Comoros in Africa Cup of Nations Opening Match.
The the Moroccan side shook off a jittery beginning to defeat their island opponents in the tournament's opening game on Sunday, thanks to the Real Madrid attacker and substitute Ayoub El Kaabi in the second half.
It was a less than dominant performance, however, from the highly fancied Moroccans, who are ranked 97 places above the small Indian Ocean nation in the world rankings and were forced to grind out for the three points in wet conditions at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Tense Start and Spurned Opportunities
The hosts missed an first-half penalty and were goalless at half-time even with controlling the ball, eventually opening the scoring in the 55th minute.
It came when full-back Mazraoui did well to keep the ball in play before laying it across for Brahim Díaz to sidefoot into the net.
Every first match is never easy but we delivered in the second period,” said Morocco coach Regragui.
The Substitute's Piece of Brilliance
Any lingering nerves was then eased by a moment of pure genius from substitute El Kaabi. Just ten minutes after coming on, the striker connected with a ball into the box with a spectacular overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the result.
Before that, the hosts could have been the lead in the 11th minute after a penalty was awarded for a challenge on Díaz. However, Rahimi's penalty was saved by keeper Yannick Pandor.
The Visitors' Defiant Stand and Second-Half Chance
The underdogs comfortably held their more illustrious opponents for long periods until the hosts' superior firepower eventually told.
Goalkeeper Pandor pulled off several further good stops to limit the score as the match wore on, even though Comoros created a chance for an equalizer shortly after Díaz's goal, with Saïd firing directly into Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Fitness Concern for Morocco
The three points was somewhat marred by an injury to Morocco's skipper, Saïss, who limped off in the 18th minute in some distress.
This centre-back had only made his comeback to the national side recently after a lengthy absence caused by a serious ankle operation.
This result continues Morocco's historic run of consecutive wins to 19, surpassing the previous best of 15 set by Spain from 2008 and 2009.
