A Vincent Aboubakar brace from the penalty spot saw Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign get off to the perfect start as it sealed a 2-1 comeback win over Burkina Faso at the Stade Omnisport Paul Biya in Yaoundé.This was Cameroon and Burkina Faso’s third encounter in the Africa Cup of Nations with both previous meetings coming in the group phase: Cameroon won 1-0 in 1998 before a 1-1 draw in 2017.FULL-TIME! ⏰ #TeamCameroon 2️⃣-1️⃣ #TeamBurkinaFaso Cameroon earn all 3️⃣ points despite being a goal down near the end of the first 45’ ✔️The hosts mean business 🦁 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | #CMRBFA pic.twitter.com/IhkEXJlxuN— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 9, 2022 The clash was off to a feisty start as Steeve Yago of Burkina Faso went in the referee’s book in the first few seconds for a nasty challenge on Fai Collins with his studs up.The Indomitable Lions were enjoying the lion’s share of possession in the game with Burkina Faso opting to sit deep and soak up the pressure with the aim of hitting Cameroon on the counter. Against the run of play, however, Burkina Faso broke the deadlock when Cyrille Bayala powered a stunning header that was destined for the top corner but Vincent Aboubakar cleared the ball off the line. Burkina Faso recycled possession through Bertrand Traoré who delivered an inch-perfect cross that was misjudged by Andre Onana in goal and fell for Gustavo Sangaré who fired the ball into the roof of the net in the 24th minute. Cameroon were handed a route back into the game when Traoré brought down Napoli midfielder André-Frank Zambo Anguissa with Aboubakar showing nerves of steel to expertly dispatch the penalty to draw António Conceição’s side level in the 38th minute. 👀 Keep calm ✔️⚽️ Score ✔️🕺 Celebrate accordingly ✔️🇨🇲 Vincent Aboubakar lit up the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 opener in style! 🦁#AFCON2021 | #CMRBFA | #TeamCameroon pic.twitter.com/KWyUv2EPRY— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 9, 2022 Just when Burkina Faso thought they were headed into the halftime break level, Issoufou Dayo’s rash tackle inside the box earned Cameroon another spot-kick with Aboubakar again scoring the penalty to put the Indomitable Lions ahead. The 2017 champions did not take their foot off the gas in the second half as Aboubakar thought he had claimed his hat-trick in the 58th minute when he laid the ball to Ngamaleu on the right, whose initial shot is saved, but then hit Aboubakar on its way into the net but the goal was ruled out for offside after a long VAR check. With Burkina Faso pushing bodies forward in a bid to get a goal that would see them claim a point, Cameroon exploited the spaces left behind with lightning-quick counters but they failed to take their chances as the Indomitable Lions started their campaign with a win.
