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| Senegal celebrate |
Senegal scraped past nine-man Cape Verde with a 2-0 win to book their place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals, while opening goalscorer Sadio Mane was taken off with a suspected concussion.
After a quick start, Mane rattled the woodwork in the opening 60 seconds as he attempted to finish off a silky Senegal move.
With 20 minutes on the clock, Cape Verde were down to 10 men. Following a VAR check after initially receiving a yellow card, Patrick Andrade was sent off after a nasty challenge on Pape Gueye.
As the half progressed, Senegal became frustrated as Cape Verde’s ambition grew. The tournament favourites - Senegal - failed to make things click in the final third, while Cape Verde managed to hold on until half-time.
A little over 10 minutes into the second half, Cape Verde were down to nine men after a second VAR check. Goalkeeper Vozinha was shown red after flying off his line and colliding with Mane as the forward was put through by opposite goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Mane was allowed to play on despite the impact to his head.
In the 63rd minute, Mane then put Senegal ahead. After a poorly cleared cross, he picked the ball up just inside the 18-yard box and orchestrated a brilliant strike that kissed the bar before dropping into the net.
It would be the Liverpool forward’s last contribution, he still looked groggy after colliding with Vozinha and was replaced minutes later.
Substitute Bamba Dieng made sure of the win in injury time as Senegal progressed to the last eight.
TALKING POINT - SENEGAL ARE NOT CONVINCING
Despite having Mane amongst their attack, Senegal have really struggled to put the ball in the net. Cape Verde were down to nine men by the 57th minute, but were still in the tie as the game headed for added time at the end of the second period.
Mane was replaced on 70 minutes after suffering a nasty head clash minutes before his goal, but even though Senegal were favourites to progress and had two extra players on the pitch, they still struggled to find a way past Cape Verde. They did eventually grab a second and put the game to bed in stoppage time, but by then Cape Verde’s nine remaining players had been run into the ground and had previously steamed forward to try and find an equaliser.
It could prove costly for Senegal later on in the tournament.
MAN OF THE MATCH - SADIO MANE (SENEGAL)
He took his goal very well, but when you consider he was potentially concussed at the time, it becomes even more impressive. The goal was finally given after a lengthy VAR check to analyse a potential foul in the build-up, but was given the all-clear which saw Mane drop to the floor.
Apart from the goal, he hadn’t looked right since his collision with Vozinha and once it was eventually given, he’d had enough and was immediately substituted.
Senegal and Mane weren’t at their best today, but the latter looked the most dangerous and his teammates would always look for his run when on the attack.
~EuroSport
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