Liverpool star Mohamed Salah struggled in Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations 2021 opener as they were defeated by Nigeria.
Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho scored the only goal of the game when he buried a half volley into the top corner in the first-half.
Salah had a decent chance to level the score in the second-half, but the Liverpool forward was unable to take it and Nigeria held on for a deserved victory.
We kept a close eye on proceedings at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Cameroon and here's how Salah's afternoon went.
READ MORE: Liverpool show Steven Gerrard how to unleash Philippe Coutinho at Aston Villa
READ MORE: Mohamed Salah breaks contract wage silence with new message to Liverpool and FSG
Where did he play?
Egypt manager and former Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz deployed a peculiar-looking '5-5-0' formation in which Salah was given a free role.
Whatever the intended system was, it did not work too well for the Pharaohs with Salah left isolated.
The Reds superstar moved from a central position out to the right-wing in the opening 45 minutes but Egypt struggled to move the ball from defence to attack.
He would continue to switch positions throughout the game in comparison to what we are used to seeing from him in Liverpool's structured attack.
Interestingly, Salah was always willing to drop in deep to gather possession - possibly because of the difficult Egypt had in breaking Nigeria down.
He looked to get on the ball and make things happen linking midfield to attack, but whenever he dropped into those positions, Leicester midfielder Wilfried Ndidi, along with centre-backs Will Troost-Ekong and Kenneth Omeruo, were quick to triple up on him.
How did he play?
Salah fell short of replicating Reds teammate Sadio Mane's heroics for Senegal on Monday with Egypt, in truth, making it difficult for him to shine.
Playing five at the back with a flat midfield, Salah was so isolated that few of his teammates even got near him for long periods of the game.
Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny offered little-to-nothing in midfield, with Egypt struggling to mount any sort of build-up play throughout.
This left Salah to come short for the ball. But when he did, he was often swarmed.
Salah won't be pleased with his performance - he strives for success in every match - but Nigeria's dominance meant he was starved of chances.
He had a few moments in front of goal - the 29-year-old was able to roll a defender before having his shot stopped and then saw a goal-bound volley blocked - but nothing to shout about until the final stages of the match.
His biggest opportunity was a chance in the 72nd minute.
Egypt substitute Zizo, who was able to link up with Salah after coming on, played a nice chipped ball through to the Liverpool attacker who then went one-on-one with the goalkeeper. But making the attempt when off balance, Salah's shot was saved.
It's the kind of situation from which we've seen Salah score for Liverpool countless times.
What next?
The defeat means Egypt needs to bounce back against Guinea-Bissau and Sudan in their two remaining Group D games.
Egypt play Guinea-Bissau this Saturday (7pm) and Sudan next Wednesday (7pm).
Should they fail to advance to the knockout stages Salah could return to Anfield by January 20, potentially making him available for the Crystal Palace game.
