Mohamed Salah forces own goal to get upper hand on Sadio Mane in World Cup playoff

It is advantage Egypt after the first leg of their World Cup qualifying play-off against Senegal ended 1-0 to the Pharaohs, meaning Mohamed Salah's side hold a slender lead over Sadio Mane's team going into the second-leg.

Friday night's clash marked the first of two legs between the two sides with a place at the 2022 Qatar World Cup later this year the prize for the eventual victor.

While Salah and Mane were the main attractions, there was a whole host of Premier League talent on display. Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny was deployed in the middle of the park for the hosts, while Chelsea's Edouard Mendy was between the sticks for Senegal.

The game saw two of Liverpool's talismanic forwards face off for the second time in under two months as Salah's Egypt sought revenge for their Africa Cup of Nations final defeat at the hands of Mane's Senegal.

That contest in early February ended goalless after 120 minutes, with the penalty shootout going in favour of The Lions of Teranga.

While Reds fans would have watched on simply hoping both came away from the contest fully fit, the pair left it all on the line in a bid to boost the World Cup qualification chances of their respective nations.

In stark contrast to the last meeting, it took just four minutes for the deadlock to be broken this time around.

While Salah played a huge part in Egypt's opener, it cannot be credited to the Liverpool star after his shot cannoned off the crossbar and back onto the leg of the unsuspecting Saliou Ciss who could do little to stop the ball bouncing off of him and over the goal-line. The opening exchanges passed Mane by with the 29-year-old making little contribution to his side's efforts.

It was not until the 36th minute before Mane's first