By SCM FOOTBALL REPORTER, Marrakech
MANCHESTER UNITED star Amad Diallo was the architect of a West African masterclass as Ivory Coast dismantled Burkina Faso 3-0 to storm into the AFCON quarter-finals.
The Old Trafford whiz-kid put on a Marrakech clinic, scoring the opener and turning provider on a night where the defending champions finally looked like the tournament’s true heavyweights.
Diallo, who has flourished under the bright lights of the Premier League this season, brought that same spark to the Stade de Marrakech. In the 20th minute, he ghosted into the box to lift a delicate finish over the onrushing Hervé Koffi, leaving the Burkinabé defense in tatters.
But the 23-year-old wasn’t finished. Just 12 minutes later, he turned provider with a pinpoint low cross that found RB Leipzig’s teenage sensation Yan Diomande.
The 18-year-old wonderkid made no mistake, burying his shot into the bottom corner to effectively end the contest before the break.
While Diallo grabbed the headlines, it was a team of superstars operating at the peak of their powers.
Al-Ahli powerhouse Franck Kessié ran the engine room with the authority of a general, while Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangaré broke up play with clinical precision.
At the back, Roma’s Evan Ndicka and Atalanta’s Odilon Kossounou were an impenetrable wall, ensuring Burkina Faso’s dangerman Bertrand Traoré didn’t get a sniff of goal.
The icing on the cake came in the 87th minute. Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Touré—another member of the Ivorians’ frightening “New Wave”—embarked on a solo run that saw him dance past two defenders before slotting home to make it 3-0.
It was a statement of intent from Emerse Faé’s men. After a group stage that felt like a slow burn, the Elephants have hit their stride, and with Diallo in this kind of “unplayable” form, the rest of Africa has been officially warned.
