Ivory Coast: Brighton's Yalcouye stole the show, but Yan Diomande still played his part against Ghana

Real Madrid's star signing, Yan Diomande, was always going to attract huge attention for his first match with Ivory Coast since his historic transfer, on Thursday against Ghana (2-0), in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Every touch of the ball he took drew roars from the Stade de la Paix in Bouake, where fans had turned out in large numbers to show their support for the most expensive African player in history, signed for £120m (including add-ons) by Real Madrid in the summer window.

Heavily criticised for his early struggles at the Santiago Bernabeu, the 19-year-old winger was hoping to use this break with the national team to catch his breath.

That objective got off to a mixed start, as it was not Diomande who turned the match against Ghana on its head, but rather young Malick Yalcouye, a diminutive attacking midfielder earning his first cap, who ended up stealing the show.

The young Brighton talent, whom the Elephants convinced to join despite competition from Mali, first opened the scoring with a fine individual effort, finished off with a superb strike. He then won the penalty for the second goal, converted by captain Franck Kessie.

Away from Real Madrid, Yan Diomande rediscovered the reckless dribbler he was at Leipzig

What about Yan Diomande in all this? Deployed on the left wing, the Elephant showed a distinctly attacking side, far removed from the sometimes timid player he had been during his early appearances at Real Madrid. Diomande did not hesitate to dribble and constantly take players on, rediscovering the player everyone knew at Leipzig.

A sign of his influence, Ivory Coast's play clearly leaned towards the left, particularly in the first half. Diomande attempted five crosses, completing just one, though several of his attempts deserved better fortune had Nicolas Pepe or Ange-Yoan Bonny, whom he found on multiple occasions inside the box, been sharper with their final touch. He was also the one to set up Yalcouye inside the box for the action that led to the penalty.

The Real Madrid man attempted just one shot, which ended up in the side netting early in the match, but he created three big chances and completed seven of his ten dribbles, by far the highest total in the match.

It was, however, this tendency to constantly try to dribble and hold onto the ball for too long that occasionally frustrated some supporters, despite the numerous differences he created.

Presumably eager to justify his status, Diomande often tended to favour the individual solution, sometimes attempting extremely bold moves, perhaps too bold, such as an elastico that did not come off at the left edge of the box, or a late-game run in which the Elephant beat two opponents before running into a wall of four Black Stars.

Corners tarnish Yan Diomande's report card against Ghana

But it is above all the numerous corners taken by Diomande that will be talked about.

Ivory Coast won six corners, most of them on the left side for Diomande, and they wasted the majority of them. Late in the first half, the Madrid man in particular badly miscued one, which turned into a dangerous counter-attacking opportunity for Ghana.

"On set pieces, I wasn't satisfied, particularly with the corners," said head coach Herve Renard in his press conference. A comment partly aimed at Diomande, who was otherwise diligent in his defensive work, as shown by his three ball recoveries. The Elephants' star will look to sharpen his numbers on Monday against modest opposition in Somalia, in Abidjan. Unless Yalcouye decides to steal the show once again!

Statistics from Sofascore and Fotmob.