Playing before home fans, the Atlas Lions attacker topped the scoring chart, underlining his influence after also finishing top scorer in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers.

Díaz ended the tournament with five goals, a tally unmatched by any other player despite Morocco’s eventual defeat in the final.

He scored in every phase, opening against Comoros, netting versus Mali, and striking twice against Zambia during the group stage.

The Real Madrid forward continued his run in the knockouts, scoring against Tanzania in the Round of 16 and Cameroon in the quarterfinals.

By scoring in five matches, Díaz joined an elite AFCON list and set a new Moroccan benchmark for consistency at the continental finals.

Source: NAN

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The decisive moment came three minutes into extra time when Pape Gueye fired a superb left-footed strike from the edge of the box, stunning the home crowd in Rabat.

Morocco had earlier missed a golden chance to win in regulation time after VAR awarded a late penalty, but Edouard Mendy saved Brahim Diaz’s effort.

Both sides traded chances in a finely balanced contest, with Morocco chasing a first continental title in over 50 years and Senegal aiming to reclaim their crown.

Senegal started brightly, dictating play early and forcing Morocco goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, into sharp saves from Pape Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye.

Morocco responded before half-time, with Nayef Aguerd narrowly missing Abdessamad Ezzalzouli’s dangerous cross across the face of goal.

After the break, the Atlas Lions pressed harder, but Ayoub El Kaabi squandered a clear chance, failing to hit the target from close range.

Senegal threatened on the counter and nearly scored late on, but Bounou produced a fine save to deny substitute Ibrahim Mbaye in the 89th minute.

Extra time proved decisive as Sadio Mané’s clever pass released Pape Gueye, who showed composure and power to beat Bounou with an unstoppable strike.

Morocco pushed desperately for an equaliser, but Mendy stood firm as Senegal defended resolutely to secure a historic victory.

The triumph confirms Senegal’s status among Africa’s elite, sealing a second AFCON title with discipline, resilience and championship pedigree.

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Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi who was brought down in the 18-yard box of their opponents lost a penalty in the 9th minute of the game.

The penalty was saved by Comoros’ goal keeper, Yannick Pandor.

The hosts who lost their captain Romain Saiss to injury took control of the game with Jawad El Yamiq taking his place.

They dominated the game with 75 per cent possession as against Comoros’ 25 per cent.

Brahim Diaz opened scoring in the 55th minute through an assist from Noussair Mazraoui.

In spite of the efforts by Comoros to get an equaliser, the hosts sealed the victory through substitute El Kabbi’s goal in the 74th minute.

Morocco who are now leading Group A will take on their Malian counterparts on Friday, while Zambia will take on Comoros on Thursday.

On Monday, South Africa will face Angola in Marrakech while Egypt, record seven-time African champions will take on  Zimbabwe in Agadir in Group B.

Hosts Morocco are ranked 11th in the world, the highest-ranked African nation, while Comoros are ranked 108th.

The two sides have met four times previously, with Morocco winning three matches and one ending in a draw.

Morocco and Comoros have also clashed at the group stage of the 2021 edition in Cameroon.

60,180 spectators watched the opening match of the tournament, including the Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan.

FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, was among those in attendance.

Source: NAN

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‎‎Jonathan, who led the ECOWAS Observation Mission, said it was customary to update Nigeria’s leader on regional developments ahead of an expected meeting of ECOWAS Heads of State.

‎‎“In ECOWAS, when you return from such assignments, you brief your president so leaders get first-hand information,” Jonathan told State House correspondents after the meeting.

‎‎He said tallying of votes in Guinea-Bissau had been concluded and stressed that the winner of the election must be formally announced.

‎‎Jonathan stressed the urgent need for the regional bloc to prioritise dialogue with the military authorities to prevent instability and avoid the use of force.

‎‎“We’re not pushing out the military by force. People will die. ECOWAS should engage them. They know the right thing to do,” he said.

‎‎He called for the immediate release of the detained opposition candidate, Fernando Diaz, saying he committed no offence and never proclaimed himself winner.

‎‎“There was no reason to arrest him. He didn’t announce himself president. They should free him and announce the result,” Jonathan said.

‎‎Jonathan urged that the declared winner should be inaugurated if the military authorities agree, stating that Africa must move past frequent political crises.

‎‎“We are tired of negative stories. What happened was not a palace coup. It wasn’t even close. I described it as a ceremonial coup,” he added.

‎Jonathan had returned to Nigeria from Guinea-Bissau on Thursday evening after being briefly trapped by the incident.

‎‎Guinea-Bissau, with a population of about 2.2 million, had experienced recurrent coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago.

Source: NAN

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Goals from Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota more than made up for Antoine Semenyo’s early opener.

Liverpool made light of playing a third of the match with 10 men after Alexis Mac Allister was sent off for a high tackle.

The hosts sealed their first win of the season with relative ease – though they were given a scare in the opening spell.

The visitors’ new coach, Andoni Iraola, set up his side to swarm Liverpool’s midfielders – a tactic that worked a charm as Jaidon Anthony had a goal disallowed for offside in the first minute.

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Two minutes later, the Reds, who drew 1-1 at Chelsea in their opener, were left shocked.

This was when Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was playing as a midfielder in possession, lost the ball in a dangerous area before Semenyo fired the south-coast club in front.

Following the dismal start, Liverpool, who have not lost to Bournemouth at Anfield before, grew into the contest.

Diaz got the breakthrough in the 27th minute as he flicked the ball into the air and scored with an acrobatic volley.

Bournemouth defender Joe Rothwell then brought down Dominik Szoboszlai.

Salah, who missed a penalty when the two sides last met in March, had his spot-kick saved before smashing home the follow-up to make it 2-1 in the 36th minute.

Liverpool kept up the pressure in the second half and scored their third goal through Jota in the 62nd minute, in spite of having gone down to 10 men just before the hour mark.

This was when Mac Allister was shown a straight red for a high tackle on Rothwell in the 58th minute.

Mac Allister’s sending off made little difference to Liverpool’s dominance as they outplayed Bournemouth in the second half.

Goalkeeper Neto did well to keep the deficit in check, saving efforts from Salah and Jota to prevent another thrashing like the 9-0 defeat Bournemouth were handed on their last visit to Anfield.

Liverpool’s new signing Wataru Endo, who came off the bench in the second half, had a strong showing on his debut, asserting himself in midfield as the hosts coasted to victory.

Bournemouth next host Tottenham Hotspur, while Liverpool will travel to face Newcastle United.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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The Reds lost for just the third time this term in their midweek clash with Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.

But they marched on with an eighth straight league win in Saturday’s contest at the Amex Stadium.

Luis Diaz bravely headed Liverpool into a 19th-minute lead by getting in front of Robert Sanchez, who was perhaps fortunate to avoid any action for clattering into the forward.

Mohamed Salah added a second from the penalty kick spot — Liverpool’s 2,000th goal in the modern Premier League.

It helped to increase the pressure on Manchester City ahead of Monday’s trip to Crystal Palace.

Brighton had gone three league games without defeat to Liverpool but fell behind in the opening quarter of the contest to Diaz’s second goal in a Liverpool shirt.

The former FC Porto winger attacked Joel Matip’s chipped pass over the top and got his head to it.

But he was unable to celebrate the goal after being wiped out by Sanchez.

Referee Mike Dean did not check back the incident on the monitor, meaning Sanchez stayed on the field, but Albion’s reprieve counted for little as Salah doubled the Reds’ lead.

Having missed a couple of presentable opportunities, the Egypt international fired a penalty kick right down the middle after Naby Keita’s shot hit Yves Bissouma on the arm.

Source: NAN

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An upset looked to be on the cards when Milot Rashica handed Norwich the lead in the 48 minute as he skipped past Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before striking home.

However, Mane struck back with a superb acrobatic effort shortly after, and Salah put Liverpool ahead just three minutes later with his 150th goal for the club.

January arrival, Diaz ended doubts of a Norwich comeback in the 83rd minute when he opened his Liverpool account with a delightful chip over opposing goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

The result put a dent in Norwich’s hopes of staying off relegation, with Dean Smith’s side failing to keep pace with 17th-place Newcastle United, who earned a draw away to West Ham United earlier on Saturday.

Liverpool remain in second place on 57 points after 25 games.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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