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After two VAR calls went against them, Algeria still managed to claw back a draw against Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso and Algeria played out an AFCON thriller, sharing four goals in an entertaining 2-2 draw that saw refereeing drama and late goals.
In a match that was heavily influenced by VAR calls, Burkina Faso were mere minutes away from a famous win before being denied in the fourth minute of extra-time.
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Mohamed Konate and Bertrand Traore twice gave Burkina Faso the lead and Baghdad Bounedjah pulled the Foxes level on both occasions.
How it happened
After a slim 1-0 win over Mauritania in their first match, Burkina Faso set up to defend against the higher-ranked Algeria and were under pressure for most of the opening exchanges.
Algeria had several opportunities to take the lead, but were denied by dogged defending and good goalkeeping by Hervé Koffi.
Against the run of play, Burkina Faso took the lead four minutes into first-half stoppage time after a sensational cross-field pass from the lively Abdoul Tapsoba found the run of Mohamed Konate, who put a powerful header past the Algerian goalkeeper.
Konate’s goal was initially ruled out for offside, but upon a review by VAR, the goal was allowed to stand, sending the Burkinabe fans in the Stade de la Paix into raptures.
Burkina Faso’s lead did not last long, as just six minutes after the halftime break, Algeria were back on level terms through Baghdad Bounedjah, who benefited from a melee in the Stallions box to tap into an empty net.
The Stallions were handed a golden opportunity to reclaim the lead after Ryan Ait-Nouri kicked Isa Kabore in the penalty area.
After yet another VAR check, Burkina Faso were awarded a spot-kick and substitute Bertrand Traore stepped up to score his second penalty of the tournament to make it 2-1 to the Stallions.
With time running out and Burkina Faso headed for a famous win, the Stallions were denied by a stoppage-time equaliser as Bounedjah struck once more in the 94th minute of the match with a powerful header from a perfectly delivered corner kick.
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