Egypt go into next Tuesday’s second leg with a small lead. The Pharaohs cleverly defended an early 1-0 lead against Africa Cup winners Senegal until the end.
In the rematch of the Africa Cup final, Egypt got off to a furious start against Senegal. From the start, the Pharaohs put the visitors under early pressure and were promptly rewarded. After a shot from Salah hit the crossbar, Ciss was unable to get out of the way in time and the ball flew off his thigh and into his own net (4th minute).
The match then developed into a tough game with many interruptions. Only in the final phase did the game pick up a bit of pace as the Africa Cup winners became more attack-minded – but it was not dangerous. On the other side, however, Hamdy failed to head the ball into the net (41st) and the game went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Senegal hardly develop any danger of scoring
After the restart, the visitors were more pressured. However, they still failed to create any chances from play and a corner provided the first equalising opportunity. Diedhioui’s header from a cross by Bayern right-back Sarr fizzed just wide of the left post (49th). But that was the end of the pressing phase.
It was not until the final phase that both goals became dangerous again. But Ismaila Sarr (79th) and Dieng (90.+1) failed to score against El-Shenawy, and Marmoush (87th) only hit the outside of the net at the other end.
This gives Egypt a slight advantage going into next Tuesday’s second leg (7pm).
