AFCON 2021: Senegal 1-0 Zimbabwe – Mane Saves Senegal In Stoppage Time

Senegal had to wait till deep into stoppage time to overcome Zimbabwe in Monday’s Group B clash in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane was the hero for his side as he scored a last-minute penalty to give Senegal a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe.

Due to some positive cases of coronavirus in the squad, the Teranga Lions were forced to start without some of their best players with Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy the obvious absentees.

Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Seny Dieng and PSG’s Abdou Diallo were the replacements for the Chelsea goalkeeper and Napoli defender respectively.

Both teams put on a show at the Stade Omnisports de Bafoussam with a couple of half chances. However, their main strength lay in their respective defences which were difficult to break down.

Senegal came closest to opening the scoring in the first half but lacked the quality to score.

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In the second half, Zimbabwe were a bit more offensive after making key substitutions to that effect in a bid to put more pressure on the Senegal defence.

However, it was Senegal who finally broke the deadlock in the 96th minute of stoppage time with a penalty after Kelvin Madzongwe was adjudged to have blocked Pape Gueye’s shot with his hand.

The ensuing penalty was calmly converted by Mane who sent Mhari the wrong way to hand his team the three points.

The win takes Senegal top of the Group B table while Zimbabwe were condemned to the bottom. It also means that Zimbabwe are yet to keep a clean sheet after 13 matches at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Both teams will now turn their attention towards their next match with Senegal facing Guinea and Zimbabwe to take on Malawi on January 14.

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