{"id":285080,"date":"2017-01-15T18:35:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-15T18:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=285080"},"modified":"2017-01-15T18:35:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-15T18:35:12","slug":"mahrez-scores-twice-to-rescue-algeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=285080","title":{"rendered":"Afcon 2017: Mahrez scores twice to rescue Algeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Riyad Mahrez scored twice as Algeria left it late to earn a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n

The Leicester winger put his side ahead with a curling shot in off the post.<\/p>\n

But Kudakwashe Mahachi’s low shot into the corner and a Nyasha Mushekwi penalty made it 2-1 to Zimbabwe – a lead they held until the 82nd minute.<\/p>\n

Algeria hit the bar twice before Mahrez levelled with a speculative 25-yard shot that Zimbabwe goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva should have saved.<\/p>\n

While Mukuruva may feel embarrassed at his error, Algeria just about managed to save their own blushes as they rescued a point from their Group B opener – a match they were very much expected to win.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe, making their first appearance at the finals since 2006, will perhaps count themselves a little unlucky after playing some excellent football.<\/p>\n

Khama Billiat was superb for the Warriors and was only denied a spectacular 30-yard goal by an outstanding fingertip save from Algeria goalkeeper Rais Mbholi, who diverted the ball on to the post.<\/p>\n

Mbholi thwarted Billiat on more than that one occasion and also produced a brilliant save with his leg to keep out Cuthbert Malajila’s shot when the score was 2-1 to Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

But Algeria improved considerably after the interval and forced Zimbabwe back.<\/p>\n

They hit the woodwork twice, through a Ramy Bensebaini header and when Zimbabwe defender Elisha Muroiwa narrowly avoided an own goal when he sliced a clearance.<\/p>\n

\"zimbabwe-celebrate\"<\/p>\n

Mahrez proved their saviour, even if it will not go down as the cleanest strike he has ever hit.<\/p>\n

And the Desert Foxes had chances to win the match, particularly when Mukuruva came flying out and left his goal wide open but Yacine Brahimi could not take advantage.<\/p>\n

Strong return by Zimbabwe<\/h3>\n

The Warriors will take heart from their performance. They lost a key player in Knowledge Musona through injury after only 12 minutes and recovered from 1-0 down to cause Algeria a mighty scare.<\/p>\n

Mamelodi Sundowns’ star man Billiat was on top form and will cause any defence problems.<\/p>\n

Mahrez needs support<\/h3>\n

The BBC and Confederation of African Footballer of the Year has got off to a terrific start, but some of Algeria’s other big names were not up to speed. Islam Slimani missed a great chance to score when he headed weakly and Brahimi can certainly produce more.<\/p>\n

But the Desert Foxes showed resilience – a necessary quality in tournament football.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Riyad Mahrez scored twice as Algeria left it late to earn a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Leicester winger put his side ahead with a curling shot in off the post. But Kudakwashe Mahachi’s low shot into the corner and a Nyasha Mushekwi penalty made it 2-1 to Zimbabwe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[2497,3064,2748,3065,3066],"class_list":["post-285080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-football","tag-afcon-2017","tag-afcon-game","tag-afcon-tournament","tag-algeria-soccer","tag-gabon-2017"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=285080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=285080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=285080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=285080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}