Senegal 1-0 Egypt: Sadio Mane’s goal helps Senegal advance to the African Cup of Nations final as they beat Mohamed Salah’s Egypt in a tense encounter in Tangier.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane face off in Tangier (Image: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP via Getty Images)
For Mohamed Salah, it was a case of history repeating itself. Sadio Mane is back on top.
The African Cup of Nations is something Salah has coveted more than anything else in his career. “No one wants this title more than me,” Salah said after helping Egypt beat Ivory Coast to reach the semi-finals. “Thankfully I’ve won all the other titles, but it doesn’t help. I’ve been carrying the pressure for a long time.”
That pressure was there in 2022, when Senegal won 4-2 on penalties and defeated Egypt in the final to claim their first AFCON title. Salah fell at the final hurdle with Liverpool teammate Mane, who was due to join Bayern Munich in a few months.
Egypt is the most successful team in AFCON history, winning seven titles. Salah is the best Egyptian player in history. However, during Salah’s international career, Pharaoh fell short and the two have never married.
read more: Mo Salah and Sadio Mane incident sparks heated scenes, resulting in suspension from AFCON finalread more: Internal feud between Mo Salah and Sadio Mane as Liverpool star seeks revenge on AFCON
Senegal has only won once, but that was at the peak of Mane’s career. And he continues to support the team’s onslaught.
The 2022 final was billed as Salah vs. Mane. And Wednesday’s semi-final in Tangier was a repeat of that, even though Morocco had other top players. After a mostly heated match, there was one clear winner.
Salah was on the periphery, creating few chances in attack as Senegal dominated possession, but Mane had the only chance. The ball bounced into Al Nasr’s forward line, who happened to be on the edge of the box. He controlled it with his chest and fired a powerful low finish from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.
Sadio Mane takes Senegal to the final (Image: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP via Getty Images)
In fact, it was just a quality moment in a highly entertaining match. When VAR confirmed there was no offside in the build-up and that Mane was not handling the ball, the result seemed inevitable. Ultra-conservative Egypt offered little offense, and Salah was powerless to prevent another Egyptian retreat.
Mane’s Senegal will face hosts Morocco or Nigeria in the final. It was another failure for Salah and at 33 years old, time is running out. His extremely competitive nature would make losing to a former teammate even more difficult.
Salah and Mane, along with Roberto Firmino, formed two-thirds of Liverpool’s famous front line. Under Jurgen Klopp, they were deadly and exhilarating to watch, even though their personal relationship was far from close.
Mo Salah and Sadio Mane hug before kick-off (Image: @CAF_Online)
As Firmino said of Si Señor in his autobiography: “I knew these guys better than anyone else. They were never best friends. The three of us had completely different personalities, Mane the most explosive, and my role as peacemaker, unifier. I rarely saw the two of them speaking. But they never severed their bond and always acted with the utmost professionalism.”
That professionalism was on display before kick-off, with Salah and Mane hugging in the tunnel in front of the cameras. However, things were far from friendly on the pitch, as evidenced by Salah’s foul on Mane, which led to a jostling on the touchline between members of the coaching staff.
In the end, it was Egypt who shed tears at the final whistle.
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