Football fans were left BAFFLED after two broadcasters had Egypt down as playing an outrageous 5-5-0 formation for their African Cup of Nations opener.

The Pharaohs kicked off their AFCON campaign this afternoon with a 1-0 defeat by Nigeria at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Cameroon.

All was fine with the pre-match coverage, that was until BeIN and Sky Sports showed the north African side’s formation.

Stunningly, the broadcasters showed Egyptians playing with two banks of five for their clash with the Super Eagles.

And Twitter went into meltdown after seeing the formation.

One fan tweeted: ‘Egypt playing a 5-5 formation?”

Another said: “Interesting Egypt formation.”

And another said: “I beg did anybody see that Egypt formation?

One remarked: “What the hell is that Egypt formation?”

Another chimed in: “Egypt formation Game Plan: kick to Salah up front, he will see what to do!”

As the game kicked off, it soon became apparent that Egypt chief Carlos Quieroz had not opted to use such an unconventional formation.

The former Manchester United No.2’s troops entered their clash with the Nigerians as one of the favourites to win the tournament.

But their campaign got off to the worst possible start as Nigeria handed them an opening defeat thanks to a Kelechi Iheanacho screamer.

The Leicester forward produced a sublime piece of skill to control the ball and volley home from the edge of the box.

Rangers star Joe Aribo provided a headed assist as he nodded the ball down to Iheanacho.

And the Nigerian No.14 took a touch on his thigh before slamming home on the half-hour mark for the game’s only goal.

📽️ 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: 🇳🇬 1-0 🇪🇬

🔥 Here's how both teams kept the thriller going right until the very end! 👇#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | #NGAEGY | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/8HFIaKnXG5

— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 11, 2022

Photo Credit: CAF_Online/Twitter

Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour has returned to Cobham for an assessment on an ankle injury sustained during his Norwich City loan.

The full injury prognosis isn’t yet known but it is expected that that Scotland international will miss a month of the season.

Dean Smith’s side will now be missing Gilmour for the game at the London Stadium, as well as a number of other fixtures, as they look to pick up points and move out of the relegation zone.

“Gilmour has an ankle injury that puts him out for three to four weeks,” Norwich boss Dean Smith said in his media conference ahead of Wednesday’s game away to West Ham.

“He’s gone back to Chelsea for them to assess it and I hope he’ll be back for treatment over the next few days.”

Gilmour has had an eventful loan spell so far, having struggled for regular game time under previous manager Daniel Farke before gradually forcing his way into Smith’s plans.

On the bright side for the current Premier League relegation favourites, it seems as though the Blues cannot recall their young midfielder back from his indifferent loan period, as confirmed by Eastern Daily Press reporter Conor Southwell.

His tweet on the situation read: ‘Smith rules out a return to CFC for Billy Gilmour.’

‘He has met the threshold of games played, meaning there is no recall option. NCFC’.

Blues manager Thomas Tuchel also alluded to this in his pre-match Spurs press conference on Tuesday, confirming that the youngster has only returned for injury reasons alone and nothing else.

Tuchel said: “First of all, we check his injury of course. He is our player and he is here to have the best examination.

“We can decide with him and Norwich about the treatment then take the decision but we have not discussed yet if he will stay or not.”

Chelsea could make themselves even less popular at Tottenham by beating them to the signing of Wolves star Adama Traore, according to reports.

Tottenham are thought to be confident in wrapping up the signing of Adama Traore from Wolves.

The Football Terrace says the Blues are interested in landing the versatile and powerful forward this month.

That’s despite reports claiming Spurs are close to a £20million transfer for the 25-year-old..

Antonio Conte is a big fan of Traore and could even use ex-Wolves ace Matt Doherty as a makeweight.

There had been interest from West Ham in Traore, but Spurs are now ready to sell Steven Bergwijn to fund an immediate swoop.

However, Conte could now be set to face strong competition from old side Chelsea for Traore’s services.

Blues boss Tuchel wants to land a new right wing-back following an injury to Reece James.

And Traore, who can also play in a front three, ticks all the boxes.