Africans in UEFA Champions League action - Wednesday, February 14

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday Feb 14, 2018. 10:00

Tonight’s UEFA Champions League action sets the stage for the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Yacine Brahimi and Vincent Aboubakar to steal the spotlight in football’s greatest club competition.

Most of the African interest will fall on the match at Estadio Do Dragao, which will see Porto host Liverpool for the first leg of their last 16 tie.

The Portuguese feature a wealth of attacking talent hailing from our continent, with Algerian Yacine Brahimi, Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar, Mali’s Moussa Marega and even Ghanaian Majeed Waris all representing a clear and present threat to Liverpool’s defence.

Yet the Reds boast an attacking trio of Brazilian Roberto Firmino, Senegalese star Sadio Mane and in-form Egyptian goal-machine Mohamed Salah, who has hit the back of the net 29 times across all competitions this season.

The Reds may also call on Cameroonian Joel Matip to partner Virgil van Dijk in central defence.

The night’s other match is a heavyweight bout between title holders Real Madrid and French contenders Paris Saint-Germain at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The only African who might see action is Madrid’s Moroccan fullback Achraf Hakimi, though he has not seen any playing time in their last three matches.