El Kaabi's Stunning Strike Caps The Atlas Lions' Victory Over the Coelacanths in Afcon Opening Match.
The the Moroccan side overcame a jittery beginning to beat their island opponents in the tournament's inaugural fixture on Sunday, after strikes by the Real Madrid attacker and substitute El Kaabi in the second half.
It was a less than dominant performance, however, from the strongly favored Moroccans, who sit 97 places above the tiny Indian Ocean nation in the FIFA rankings and were forced to work tirelessly for the victory in wet conditions at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium.
Nervy Start and Spurned Chances
Morocco missed an early penalty and were goalless at half-time even with controlling the ball, eventually breaking the deadlock in the 11th minute of the second half.
The goal came when Noussair Mazraoui showed great skill to prevent the ball from going out before laying it across for Brahim Díaz to sidefoot into the net.
“The first match is invariably tough but we came good in the second period,” said manager Regragui.
El Kaabi's Piece of Brilliance
The tension was then extinguished by a piece of pure genius from Ayoub El Kaabi. Only 10 minutes after his introduction, the striker connected with a ball into the box with a stunning bicycle kick in the 74th minute, doubling and sealing the result.
Earlier in the match, the Moroccan team might have taken the lead in the 11th minute after a spot-kick was awarded for a foul on Díaz. However, Soufiane Rahimi penalty was saved by Comoros goalkeeper Pandor.
The Visitors' Resistance and Late Opportunity
Comoros comfortably held Morocco at bay until the hosts' superior firepower eventually told.
Shot-stopper Pandor pulled off several further fine saves to keep down the score as the match progressed, even though his team created a chance for an equaliser shortly after the first goal, with Saïd firing directly into Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Fitness Concern for Morocco
The three points was somewhat overshadowed by an apparent injury to Morocco's skipper, Romain Saïss, who was forced off in the first half in some distress.
The centre-back had only returned to the national side recently after a lengthy absence caused by a serious ankle operation.
This result extends Morocco's historic run of consecutive victories to nineteen, surpassing the previous best of 15 set by the Spanish national team from 2008 and 2009.
