Erling Haaland sends clear message to Omar Marmoush and Mo Salah after AFCON drama

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland sent a message to his teammate after Egpyt's win over Zimbabwe in the African Cup of Nations

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has sent a message to Omar Marmoush after Egypt's dramatic late win in the African Cup of Nations. Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah scored the all-important goal in the 91st minute as Egypt defeated Zimbabwe in their tournament curtain raiser.

The victory gave one of the tournament favourites an ideal start to their campaign, coming from behind to claim all three points. The strike was Salah's first goal since early November, when he scored in Liverpool's 2-0 Premier League victory against Aston Villa, with Marmoush scoring the equaliser just after the hour mark.

Following the match, Salah maintained his usual custom of posting photographs featuring himself alongside fellow goalscorers on his Instagram page.

He subsequently shared an image of himself with Man City's Marmoush, and Haaland sent a message of support for his teammate.

The Norwegian commented: "Salam Brusjans", which means 'peace brothers', accompanied by a thumbs up emoji.

Egypt may have come away with all three points, but their head coach, Hossam Hassan, felt his side was wasteful in the final third.

"We were unlucky in this game. We wasted many chances and made it harder than it should have been," he said on BeIN Sports. "I warned the players about this scenario, and we have to learn the lesson.

"There are no easy matches in this tournament. We want to compete for the title. Egypt is a big nation in Africa and has the right to fight for the trophy."

The Pharaohs return to action on Boxing Day when they face South Africa in their group stage encounter. Their final group fixture sees them meet Angola on Monday, 29th December (4pm kick-off).

Man City, meanwhile, are back in Premier League action on Saturday, 27th December (12:30pm kick-off) when they take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Sean Dyche's side are now out of the relegation zone and five points clear of West Ham United in 18th.