CAIRO: Riyad Mahrez and Sadio Mane will renew their Premier League rivalry for a second time in Egypt, with Africa Cup of Nations immortality awaiting the victor of Friday’s final between Algeria and Senegal.
Algerian star Mahrez was part of the Manchester City team that edged out Mane’s Liverpool for the English title last season, grabbing a pivotal goal on the final day of the campaign.
Liverpool standout Mane, however, is attempting to fulfill his “wildest dream” as one of just a handful of Africans to win both the UEFA Champions League and Cup of Nations.
For the marquee name in a Senegalese side ranked top of the continent, and a surprising 46 places above Algeria, the ride to the final for Mane and the Teranga Lions has encountered its share of roadbumps.
Two missed Mane spot-kicks, a group stage loss to Algeria, and the loss of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to a broken finger have tested Senegal’s resolve in their quest for the Holy Grail of African football.
Coach Aliou Cisse is on a mission for personal redemption. He was the skipper of the side beaten on penalties in the 2002 final, with his missed kick handing the title to Cameroon.
“Having lost that final, I still have it on my mind,” said former Paris Saint-Germain and Birmingham City midfielder Cisse.
“What motivated me to become a coach was to be able to take Senegal to the final. My players told me they would do better than my generation.”
A maiden Cup of Nations for his country is a prize for which Mane readily admitted he would trade in last month’s Champions League title.
“I’m ready to even swap a Champions League for a Cup of Nations. Going to Dakar with the trophy would be extraordinary. It would be my wildest dream,” Mane told France Football ahead of the competition.
Standing in the way, however, is an Algerian outfit that has undergone a remarkable transformation since the arrival of Djamel Belmadi as coach a year ago.
The Desert Foxes failed miserably in World Cup qualifying, but the steely Belmadi has healed divisions in the squad to lead them to the brink of a first Cup of Nations triumph since 1990.
“To the Algerian people, I want to say I’m not a politician, not a miracle worker or a wizard, but that we will fight like we have fought to this point,” Belmadi said after the semifinal win over Nigeria.
Algeria are the leading scorers in Egypt with 12 goals, including Mahrez’s spectacular last-gasp free-kick against Nigeria, and haven’t trailed at all in the tournament.
“Algeria are so well organized, so compact, so ‘Guardiolaesque’ in the way they recover the ball,” opined experienced international coach Claude Le Roy. “Perhaps it is the influence of Mahrez.”
The Algeria captain has been in fine form for his country here, brimming with confidence after helping City to the domestic treble.
“We are very happy to be in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations because it is something very special,” said Mahrez.
“It was our goal to do it for the people and for our families. We know they are behind us all the way. It’s my dream to win the Cup of Nations.”
“It’s going to be another battle against Senegal,” he added. “We’ve been very good in this competition. The (Nigeria) match has given us more confidence for the final and we’re capable of winning it.”
Their hopes will boosted by the absence of Senegal’s defensive rock Kalidou Koulibaly, whose yellow card in the semifinal victory over Tunisia cruelly ruled the Napoli star out of the final.
“It hurts to not be able to play. But I will be beside my brothers to write history,” tweeted Koulibaly, the cornerstone of a defense breached just once so far.
Mahrez and Mane duel in rematch for Africa Cup of Nations glory
Mahrez and Mane duel in rematch for Africa Cup of Nations glory
- Algerian star Mahrez was part of the Manchester City team that edged out Mane’s Liverpool for the English title last season
Holders PSG, Real Madrid among clubs awaiting Champions League play-offs draw
- The draw for the knockout stage play-offs takes place on Friday
- Europe’s elite club competition is now more bloated than ever since the expansion last season to 36 teams in the Champions League proper
PARIS: Title-holders Paris Saint-Germain and record 15-time winners Real Madrid are among the European giants who will have to come through the play-off round of this season’s Champions League after missing out on direct qualification for the last 16.
The draw for the knockout stage play-offs takes place on Friday from 1100 GMT after the league phase concluded on Wednesday with the eighth and final round of games.
There was real drama on the last night, in particular in Lisbon where Jose Mourinho’s Benfica beat his former side Real 4-2, goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring a 98th-minute goal that allowed the Portuguese giants to snatch the last spot in the play-offs and nudged their opponents out of the top eight.
Europe’s elite club competition is now more bloated than ever since the expansion last season to 36 teams in the Champions League proper.
That means 144 matches are now required to eliminate just 12 teams, with the top eight in the overall standings going through to the last 16 and the next 16 teams advancing to the play-offs.
At the end of it all, there are few real surprises, with the top 17 berths all occupied by clubs from the so-called big five European leagues of England (six), Spain (three), Italy (three), Germany (three) and France (PSG), with one exception in Portuguese giants Sporting.
Some big names did fall by the wayside, with Italian champions Napoli being bundled out along with three former champions in Marseille, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax. Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Eintracht Frankfurt were eliminated too.
The play-offs take place over two legs in February, with the eight winners completing the line-up for the last 16.
- Bodo/Glimt, Qarabag the surprises -
The most remarkable achievements in reaching the play-offs belong to Qarabag — the champions of Azerbaijan who advanced despite losing 6-0 to Liverpool in their final outing — and, above all, Bodo/Glimt.
Champions of Norway in four of the last six years, the outfit from north of the Arctic Circle beat Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in their last two matches to go through — despite their domestic season finishing at the end of November.
“We should be extremely proud,” said their coach Kjetil Knutsen, and Bodo/Glimt can now look forward to a glamor tie against either Real or last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan.
The other possible tie for Madrid is an immediate rematch with Benfica, while other potential match-ups on Friday include PSG having to face domestic rivals Monaco and Borussia Dortmund having to play Bayer Leverkusen in all-Bundesliga showdown.
“We will have to take the long route, but I don’t think anyone else can be considered favorites more than us,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique of having to face an extra knockout tie, mindful that doing so last year did not stop the French side from going on to win the title.
“We deserve to be in this situation today,” admitted Real star Kylian Mbappe after his side’s loss in Lisbon saw them drop into the play-offs.
“Now we have to play two more play-off games. It hurts to have to play those, we wanted to have the time in February to work on our game.”
Real came through the play-offs last season, beating Manchester City before eventually losing to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
This time City are one of their potential opponents in the last 16 in March, along with Sporting, should they make it through the play-offs.
Meanwhile, PSG already know they will play either Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16, assuming they reach that stage — the Parisians beat Barcelona away earlier this season but lost to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final last July.
Arsenal, having finished first in the league phase, will take on one of Dortmund, Leverkusen, Atalanta or Olympiacos in the last 16.
Champions League knockout phase play-off draw teams
Seeded: Real Madrid (ESP), Inter Milan (ITA), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Newcastle United (ENG), Juventus (ITA), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Atalanta (ITA), Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Unseeded: Borussia Dortmund (GER), Olympiacos (GRE), Club Brugge (BEL), Galatasaray (TUR), Monaco (FRA), Qarabag (AZE), Bodo/Glimt (NOR), Benfica (POR)
