- The red player, with an assist and a goal, leads the Leones de Teranga in a great second half
Senegal gave no chance for surprise and got into the Africa Cup final after knocking down a combative Burkina Faso. Led by Sadio Mané , author of a goal and an assist, the Leones de Teranga reacted in the second half to assert their superiority. On Sunday the faces will be seen with the winner of Cameroon-Egypt.
The game started with a strong clash of heads between Mendy and Bayala that foreshadowed how eventful the first half was going to be (it lasted 53 minutes) with a lot of friction and very little football. Senegal started in command but without generating danger, since Mané , well guarded, lacked finesse in the final meters to threaten Burkina Faso.
At the edge of the half hour goalkeeper Koffi and Kouyaté collided in the area in the dispute of an aerial ball and fell badly. The players had to be attended to for several minutes while the referee went to review the action for a possible penalty by Koffi when he put out his fist to dispute the ball. Nothing at all. The goalkeeper cleanly took the ball out before the tremendous impact with his rival. It was the last thing Koffi did in the match, as he had to leave the field immobilized and on a stretcher before being replaced by Ouedraogo .
The match thereafter was enlivened by a frantic exchange of blows. Bandé put Mendy to the test in Burkina Faso ‘s best minutes and Mané answered with a left-footed shot that was saved by the recently entered Ouedraogo . Before the end, the referee signaled a penalty for a handball in the Burkina Faso area, but again, after reviewing the play, the Ethiopian referee wisely changed his decision because Tapsoba repelled Gueye ‘s shot with his stomach.
In the second half Senegal woke up and, hand in hand with Mané, began to prowl the Burkina Faso area. Ismaila Sarr ‘s entry at game time definitely tipped the field and, coming out of a corner, Diallo made it 0-1 by pocketing a ball without an owner. Shortly after, Mané juggled on the baseline to get past a Burkinabe defender and summon Bamba Dieng with the goal.
The 0-2 seemed final but Burkina Faso had not yet said their last word. A run by Kabore down the right wing was finished off with Blati Touré ‘s knee to give uncertainty in the final minutes (83’). However, Sadio Mané , on a counterattack, buried the Colts’ hopes of making it 1-3 and sealing their place in the grand final.
Burkina Faso: Koffi (Ouedraogo, m. 36); Kabore, Tapsoba, Dayo, Yago; Sangare, Guira, Toure; Band (Tapsoba, m. 81), Traoré, Bayala (Sanogo, m. 60).
Senegal: Edouard Mendy; Sarr, Koulibaly, Diallo, Ciss; Kouyaté (Gueye, m. 64), Nampalys Mendy (Cissé, m. 92); Dieng (Sarr, m. 77), Gueye, Mané; Diedhioy (Sarr, m. 65).
Goals: 0-1, m. 70: Daillo; 0-2, m. 76: Gueye; 1-2, m. 83; Tower; 1-3, m. 87: Mane.
Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Etiopia). Mostró cartulina amarilla a Guira (m. 28) for part of Burkina Faso and a Sarr (m. 50) and a Cissé (m. 93) for part of Senegal.
Spectators: 40,000 at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaundé