Hosts Algeria beat Libya 1-0 in the seventh edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) that kicked off at Nelson Mandela Stadium on Friday night.
USM Alger striker Aymen Mahious scored the all-important goal in the 57th minute from the penalty spot after he was brought down in the 18-yard box by Libyan goalkeeper Muad Allafi.
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The Desert Foxes who had been in control of their destiny from the first minute of the game and had outplayed Libya in the first half had registered 64% ball possession with at least one of their seven attempts at goal on target.
π©πΏβ½οΈ Aymen Mahious scored his 5th career goal for the Algeria A' (local) national team and is now the joint top scorer of the A' (local) team along with Hillal Soudani #TeamDZ #CHAN2022
— Algeria FC π©πΏβ½οΈ (@Algeria_FC) January 14, 2023
β½οΈ vs Nigeria π³π¬
β½οΈ vs Sudan πΈπ©
β½οΈ vs Mali π²π±
β½οΈ vs Senegal πΈπ³
β½οΈ vs Libya π±πΎ pic.twitter.com/ThYH8QsbgM
With this victory, Algeria is top of Group A with three points while Libya sit bottom. The second game of Group A will see Ethiopia facing Mozambique on Saturday, 14 January at the same venue.
The biennial tournament, which was first staged in 2009 in Cote d’Ivoire, runs from January 13 to February 4 this year.
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