Riyad Mahrez nets a brace to lead Algeria to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Sudan in their first Africa Cup of Nations group stage match.
CAPTAIN Riyad Mahrez scored in each half as Algeria began their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a commanding 3-0 win over Sudan.
The 2019 champions took the lead after just 82 seconds at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium, delighting the large contingent of Algerian supporters in the crowd of 16,115.
Mahrez doubled the advantage just after the hour mark before substitute Ibrahim Maza added a late third to seal the Group E victory.
France legend Zinedine Zidane was among the spectators in the Moroccan capital, with his son Luca starting in goal for Algeria.
“I am happy to have got the three points. It is a long time since we did that at the AFCON so the main thing for us was to win today,” said Mahrez.
The Manchester City legend added that the team’s ambition is to reach the final and not just make up the numbers.
Algeria broke the deadlock early when Hicham Boudaoui’s clever back-heel set up Mahrez to fire home from Mohamed Amoura’s cross.
Sudan’s task became harder when Salaheldin Adil was sent off for a second bookable offence six minutes before half-time.
Mahrez made it 2-0 on 61 minutes, connecting with a superb outside-of-the-boot assist from Amoura to score his record eighth AFCON goal for Algeria.
Maza completed the scoring with five minutes remaining, tapping in from close range for Algeria’s 100th goal in the tournament’s history.
The result marks a positive start for Algeria, who were eliminated in the first round without a win at the last two AFCON finals.
Sudan, champions in 1970, have now won just once in their last 17 Cup of Nations matches.
