Liverpool star Sadio Mane shone for Senegal as they booked a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final with a 3-1 win over Burkina Faso.
Senegal were surprisingly short of goals during the early stages of the tournament, but Mane has contributed throughout.
He scored an injury-time winner from the penalty spot in their Group B win over Zimbabwe, netted in the Last 16 win over Cape Verde and then assisted the opener in their 3-1 quarter-final triumph over Equatorial Guinea.
The 29-year-old saved his best performance yet for Wednesday night’s semi-final against Burkina Faso in Yaounde, though.
After Abdou Diallo had put Senegal in front in the 70th minute, Mane assisted the Bamba Dieng goal that doubled their advantage.
Blati Toure made things interesting by pulling one back for the underdogs in the 82nd minute, but Mane put the result beyond all doubt by netting five minutes later to move level with Henri Camara as the country’s top goalscorer of all time.
The Liverpool attacker’s assist was all about persistence and awareness and his dinked finish after a swift break oozed quality.
Liverpool star Mane shines for Senegal
These were clearly the highlights of his performance, but his overall stats were outstanding, giving him a brilliant WhoScored.com match rating of 9.4.
Mane hit the target with all three of his shots, produced a remarkable five key passes, and recorded a pass accuracy of 82.8%.
He also completed five dribbles, drew three fouls, completed one cross and was only dispossessed three times.
Top players tend to step up when the pressure is really on and that’s certainly what the 29-year-old did.
Now, he’s just one game away from AFCON glory, with either Egypt or Cameroon set to be the opponents in Sunday’s final.
Senegal’s success in the tournament is, of course, less good news for Liverpool, who will be without Mane for their FA Cup clash against Cardiff City at the weekend.
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