Iheanacho overshadows Salah and Mahrez at AFCON

Kelechi Iheanacho overshadowed fellow Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Riyad Mahrez on Tuesday as Nigeria made a winning start to their Africa Cup of Nations campaign and title-holders Algeria were held.

The Leicester City forward scored the only goal on 30 minutes as Nigeria overcame lacklustre Egypt 1-0 in a clash of Group D big guns in the northwestern city of Garoua.

His match winner and overall performance earned Iheanacho the man-of-the-match award on a day when prolific Liverpool scorer Salah and Manchester City winger Mahrez failed to sparkle.

🇳🇬 𝐈𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐢 is the TotalEnergies Man of the Match 💪

His wonderful goal secured the first 3⃣ points for #TeamNigeria #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/R1h63rV5MH

— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 11, 2022

Captain Salah looked an isolated, frustrated, figure at the Stade Roumde Adjia and when he did get a scoring chance in the second half, his prod was saved by the boot of goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.

“We had three things in mind — winning, retaining possession and cutting off the supply to Salah,” said Nigeria caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen.

Algeria were hot favourites to win the opening Group E match against Sierra Leone, a lowly ranked team making a first Cup of Nations appearance since 1996.

But captain Mahrez could not inspire his team in the Atlantic port city of Douala and several excellent saves by Sierra Leone goalkeeper Mohamed Kamara saw him voted man of the match.

Ivory Coast, considered the biggest threat to Algeria in the section, face Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday in a match offering both teams a chance to top the table.

The draw did allow Algeria to extend their remarkable unbeaten run in competitive action to 35 games, just two shy of Italy’s record of 37 without defeat.