Tunisia 0 Algeria 2 (aet): Heartbreak for Man Utd whiz Hannibal Mejbri as his side lose Arab Cup final after extra-time

MANCHESTER UNITED whiz Hannibal Mejbri suffered heartbreak in the Arab Cup final as Algeria were beaten 2-0 in extra time by Tunisia.

The exciting Red Devils playmaker, 18, had scooped TWO man-of-the-match awards leading up to Saturday’s showpiece event.

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But Mejbri was unable to help Tunisia land the top prize as Algeria claimed victory in the inaugural competition thanks to late goals from Amir Sayoud and Yacine Brahimi.

Both sides started quickly in a lively game as beefy tackles flew in all over the pitch.

Mejbri himself was guilty of a dodgy challenge early on, but the wonderkid somehow managed to avoid picking up a yellow.

Mejbri then thought he had won a penalty in the 12th minute, but replays showed he was already hitting the deck before being touched.

And it was Tunisia who came closest to opening the scoring when Bilel Ifa headed against the bar just moments later.

Both sides ended up fluffing more chances as an electric first half saw a big scuffle break out in the 37th minute.

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Indeed, there were FIVE yellow cards dished out before the break.

And the second half resumed with Algeria soon pleading for a handball, which VAR turned down.

Algeria then saw Ilyes Chetti create a golden opportunity, firing the ball across the goal mouth - but there was nobody there to tap it in.

Opportunities for both sides soon dried up as the game’s tempo slowed to a crawl, with neither team willing to take attacking risks.

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And with the scores tied at 0-0 after 90 minutes, the game went to extra time.

But despite struggling in the early stages of the 30, Algeria finally opened the scoring against the run of play in the 100th minute.

Sayoud curled home a sensational strike from the edge of the box to send the Algeria fans into raptures.

The sub struck it from 20 yards out to beat the keeper and leave Tunisia fans stunned.

Algeria then wound down the clock with some clever play, before Brahimi was able to run the ball into an empty net in the last seconds after Tunisia’s goalie went up for a corner.

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