Riyad Mahrez had a forgettable night as Angola, ranked 117th, came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Algeria.
Despite Algeria’s dominance from the start, their first scoring opportunity came in the ninth minute when Youcef Belaili intercepted Mahrez‘s through ball and attempted a shot, but Neblu saved it.
Nine minutes later, Baghdad Bounedjah broke the deadlock by scoring a simple lob after receiving Belaili’s long ball inside the Angolan box.
In the 25th minute, Bounedjah almost doubled his team’s lead with an acrobatic strike, but the goal was disallowed as he was in an offside position when he intercepted the pass.
Finally, in the 65th minute, the Palancas Negras had their moment when Nabil Bentaleb fouled Mabululu inside the box. Although the initial penalty strike hit the underside of the crossbar, Mabululu managed to score from the rebound.
The Angolan team performed exceptionally well against the superior Algerians, who are ranked 87 places above them in the FIFA rankings. Despite conceding a goal early in the first half, the Angolans never gave up and their hard work paid off when they scored a penalty to equalise.
Riyad Mahrez, a former star player for Manchester City, had a difficult time on the field, as he was closely marked by the Angolan defender and struggled to break through their defense. There were high expectations for the experienced Algerian player, but he failed to deliver in his team’s first match of the tournament and appeared frustrated throughout the entire 90 minutes.
Mahrez and his teammates will aim to recover in their second group game on January 20 against Burkina Faso. On the same day, the Angolans will face Mauritania.
