Amad Diallo grabbed a goal and an assist as Africa Cup of Nations holders Ivory Coast reached the quarter-finals of the competition with a 3-0 win over Burkina Faso.
Their progression to a last-eight tie with Egypt was sealed in stunning fashion, with substitute Bazoumana Toure running from his own box before scoring in the 87th minute.
Diallo was key to the Ivory Coast’s quick start at Stade de Marrakech, following up his blazed free-kick attempt with a left-footed shot that narrowly missed the left-hand post.
But it was third time lucky for the Manchester United forward, who collected Evan Guessand’s deflected pass before dinking a smart finish over Herve Koffi in the 20th minute.
And Diallo was again involved to help his nation pull two goals clear 12 minutes later, this time teeing up Yan Diomande, who swept the ball home from inside the penalty area.
Burkina Faso improved after the interval, with a smart stop from Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahia Fofana at his near post denying Dango Ouattara’s prodded shot from close range.
But it was the Ivory Coast who would have the final say when Toure dispossessed Bertrand Traore on the edge of his own box before ending his fine run with a near-post finish.
Data Debrief: Diallo matches Drogba with latest AFCON strike
The Ivory Coast knew how important Diallo would be to help retain their AFCON title, and he proved here why he could be the player to lead them to glory this year.
Diallo has now scored in all three of his starts at the tournament (three goals), while he also became the first player from the Ivory Coast to score 3+ times in a single edition of the competition since the great Didier Drogba back in 2012 (also three).
He is also the first Ivorian to both score a goal and deliver an assist in an AFCON knockout match since Yaya Toure in 2012, while Diallo registered team-high totals for shots (five) and shots in the box (three), while only Franck Kessie and Diomande (both four) created more chances than Diallo (two).
The Ivory Coast have now reached the quarter-finals of AFCON for the ninth time in the 21st century, the joint-highest tally (along with Nigeria), and they were worthy of their win here, having registered an expected goals (xG) total of 2.02 from their 21 shots to their opponents 0.41 from their eight attempts.
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