Lassine Sinayoko scored a second-half penalty as Mali held on to frustrate African Cup of Nations hosts Morocco in Rabat this evening.
Brahim Diaz’s controversial opener, also from the penalty spot, put Walid Regragui’s men ahead at the break, but Mali’s relentless approach paid off when Sinayoko beat Yassine Bounou to secure his side their second consecutive 1-1 draw.
Morocco, cheered on by Real Madrid and French superstar Kylian Mbappe, remain top of Group A with four points from two games and are all but assured of a place in the round of 16, but have done little to justify their status as tournament favorites.
Real Madrid midfielder Diaz was a calming presence in a frenetic encounter and he fired a free-kick over the bar after just four minutes. He had another great opportunity shortly after the quarter of an hour of play but saw his low shot superbly stopped by Djigui Diarra.
Ayoub El Kaabi nodded after 43 minutes and it looked likely Morocco’s dominance would not be rewarded before the break. But after Diaz escaped to the right, he was partially stopped by a stumbling Nathan Gassama. While trying to keep his feet, Gassama was judged to have handled and referee Abdou Abdel Mefire pointed to the spot.
It looked extremely harsh, but Diaz showed no mercy, confidently placing the kick into the bottom left corner.
Mali fights back
Mali equalized in the 13th minute of the second period. Sinayoko pierced the heart of the Moroccan defense before being brought down by Nayef Aguerd. Mysteriously, Mefire waved the game to change his mind when he rewatched the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Sinayoko scored, shooting under Bono, as Morocco conceded their first goal in 918 minutes.
Experienced striker Youssef En-Nesryi was sent on to add some more physicality to the Moroccan attack and it almost worked when he forced his way into a shooting position, but his low shot was superbly blocked by Diarra.
Mali survived one more scare, and it was self-inflicted.
With 10 minutes of added time almost up, Woyo Coulibaly attempted a risky back header under little pressure, forcing Diarra into a brilliant one-handed save low to his right.
