By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Sports Writer, kick442.com Nigeria
Atlas Lions of Morocco put their names in the annals of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) history by retaining the trophy with a 2-0 win over the Eagles of Mali in the final of the 2020 edition.
After becoming the first nation to make it back to back (consecutive) finals, Morocco faced a stiff test and opposition from Mali to emerge as Champions.
The first half was a keenly contested one with Morocco bossing possession while Mali had the biggest threats upfront.
The same scenario repeated itself in the second half until Abdelmouna Boutouil headed home from a corner kick in the 69th minute to score the first goal of the game for the Atlas Lions.
Captain, Ayoub El Kaabi capitalised on Malians failure to clear a corner kick by heading home the second goal for Morocco in the 80th minute.
Mali’s Isaka Samake was sent off for his second bookable offence in the 93rd minute after a challenge on an opponent.
Morocco thus became the first country to win the tournament back to back (consecutively) after Sunday’s victory and their 4-0 win over Nigeria in the 2018 final on home soil.
Morocco and Raja Casablanca’s Soufianne Rahimi with five goals emerged as the top goal scorer of the tournament. The 24-year-old also won the player of the tournament award after his exploits.
The Eagles of Mali on the other hand thus lost their second final appearance after their defeat to DR Congo in 2016.
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