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Algeria dominated Kenya and came out victorious in their first match of the 2019 African Cup of Nations.
Unable to win any game at the 2017 AFCON, Algeria started off the current edition of the continental tournament positively. From the blow of the whistle, the Desert Foxes made a great impression by easily dictating early proceedings and won by two goals in the end.
Well organized, conquering, and above all technically superior, Djamel Belmadi's team easily imposed their superiority in this game. Even though there were weak times, especially in the second half, Algeria never lost the foothold they established in the game
A one-way first-half
The Algerians approached the match with the right attitude, putting a lot of pressure on their opponents from start to finish. They open the scoring in the 34th minute and it was courtesy of a penalty when Youcef Atal was brought down in the box. Baghdad Bounedjah took the penalty and converted the spot kick with ease.
Algeria's lead was well deserved, and it was doubled in the 43rd minute via Riyad Mahrez, following some brillliant work by Ismael Bennacer. Algeria went into the break with a 2-0 lead and Mahrez and Bounedjah could each have snapped another goal.
Drab second-half
In the second half, and especially because of the accumulated fatigue, the Desert Foxes were much less precise. The score did not change. The essentials had already been done and it was important to rest some key players for the other group games. With that in mind, Algeria decided to give playing time to striker Andy Delort. This sets them up comfortably for the rest of the tournament and they'll be looking to mount a serious challenge for the trophy.
