Ayoub El Kaabi's Spectacular Strike Caps The Atlas Lions' Victory Against Comoros in Afcon Opening Match.
The the Moroccan side shook off a nervy beginning to overcome their island opponents in the tournament's opening game on Sunday, after strikes by Brahim Díaz and substitute El Kaabi in the latter period.
This constituted a hardly emphatic performance, though, from the heavily tipped hosts, who are ranked 97 places higher than the small Indian Ocean nation in the FIFA rankings and had to grind out for the points in wet conditions at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Tense Beginning and Missed Chances
The hosts missed an first-half penalty and were locked at 0-0 at the interval even with dominating possession, finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.
The goal came when Noussair Mazraoui showed great skill to keep the ball in play before slipping it across for Brahim Díaz to calmly pass home.
Every opening game is invariably tough but we delivered in the second period,” said Morocco coach Regragui.
El Kaabi's Piece of Brilliance
Any lingering nerves was then eased by a piece of sheer individual brilliance from Ayoub El Kaabi. Only 10 minutes after his introduction, the forward met a cross with a spectacular overhead kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the result.
Earlier in the match, the Moroccan team could have been ahead in the 11th minute when a penalty was awarded for a foul on Díaz. However, Rahimi's penalty was saved by Comoros goalkeeper Pandor.
The Visitors' Resistance and Second-Half Opportunity
The underdogs comfortably held Morocco at bay before the Moroccans' individual talent eventually told.
Goalkeeper Pandor made a number of other good stops to keep down the score as the game progressed, even though his team created a chance for an equalizer shortly after the first goal, with Saïd shooting straight at keeper Bounou.
Injury Worry for Morocco
The victory was partially marred by an injury to Morocco's captain, Romain Saïss, who limped off after the 18th minute in tears.
This centre-back had only made his comeback to the international setup last month following a lengthy absence due to a serious ankle operation.
This result extends the team's historic run of consecutive victories to 19, beating the previous best of 15 set by Spain between 2008 and 2009.
