By our man in Morocco
THE Egyptian King reigned supreme in Morocco last night as Mohamed Salah produced a moment of pure magic to break Benin hearts.
Liverpool’s talismanic forward struck in the dying seconds of extra time to secure a 3-1 win for the Pharaohs, but only after the seven-time champions were given the fright of their lives.
For long periods in Agadir, it looked like the upset of the century was on the cards as plucky Benin refused to follow the script.
Manchester City’s new sensation Omar Marmoush was the man causing chaos early on, dancing through the Cheetahs’ defence with the kind of swagger that has made him a Premier League hit.
But despite the star power of Marmoush and Salah, Egypt found themselves frustrated by a resolute Benin wall for over an hour.
The deadlock was finally shattered in the 69th minute when Marwan Attia unleashed a 30-yard thunderbolt that nearly took the net off its hinges. It was a goal worthy of winning any tournament, but Benin clearly hadn’t read the headlines.
With just seven minutes of normal time remaining, Jodel Dossou pounced on a loose ball to silence the traveling Egyptian fans and drag the giants into a nerve-shredding extra 30 minutes.
Egypt’s heavyweights eventually found their second wind.
Defender Yasser Ibrahim proved he can be a hero too, rising highest from a clever short-corner routine to loop a header into the far corner and restore the lead in the 97th minute.
But it was left to the biggest superstar of them all to provide the knockout blow.
As Benin threw everyone forward in a desperate search for another equaliser, Egypt broke with lightning speed. Salah, showing the clinical edge that has terrified defenders for a decade, raced clear and dinked the ball over the advancing keeper with the very last kick of the game.
It was his 10th AFCON goal and his third of this tournament, proving once again that when the pressure is at boiling point, the King of Egypt never misses his cue.
Egypt now march into the quarter-finals, where a mouth-watering clash against either Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso awaits. On this evidence, with Salah and Marmoush in the side, they’ll take some stopping.
