BAFOUSSAM, Cameroon: Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Naby Keita became rivals on Friday, captaining Senegal and Guinea in a drab 0-0 Group B matchday 2 deadlock at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Scoring chances were few in the afternoon heat of Bafoussam with Senegal the more wasteful side in a showdown between nations expected to occupy the top two positions in the final standings.
Guinea and Senegal will go into the final round of group matches on Tuesday sharing the lead with four points each, and goal difference could determine who finishes first.
“The Guineans made quite an impression in the first half, but we were the more convincing team after half-time and looked the likelier winners,” said Senegal coach Aliou Cisse.
Guinea coach Kaba Diawara was satisfied with the outcome, saying “Senegal are the top ranked team in Africa so forcing a draw and keeping them goalless was okay.”
Malawi and Zimbabwe meet later on Friday in the second match of a double-header with both needing maximum points to have a realistic chance of reaching the second round.
While neither southern Africa country is likely to overtake Guinea or Senegal, a win could take them into the round of 16 as one the best four third-placed teams.
It was the third clash between the west African neighbors with Senegal winning the previous two by one-goal margins in 1994 and 2006.
Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gueye was ruled out after testing positive for coronavirus and joined fellow stars Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly in isolation.
Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy and Napoli center-back Koulibaly contracted Covid-19 before the opening round, in which Senegal snatched a last-gasp win over Zimbabwe through a Mane penalty.
An opening half played in 32 degrees celsius (90 fahrenheit) heat was dominated by defenses with Guinea wasting the only clearcut chance.
A swift counterattack by the Syli Nationale (national elephant) enabled them to outnumber the slowly retreating Senegalese, but it ended with Morgan Guilavogui shooting straight at goalkeeper Seny Dieng.
The ball then ran loose in the goalmouth and Senegal hastily cleared it at the expense of a fruitless corner.
Reigning African Footballer of the Year Mane had few opportunities to make an impact and teammate Bouna Sarr squandered a chance off a close-range free-kick by firing into the defensive wall.
Guinea won the first half corner count 7-2 and left the pitch at half-time satisfied having had the better of the exchanges with the 2019 Cup of Nations runners-up
Senegal were much improved in the early stages of the second half at the 20,000-seat Stade Kouekong in the western Cameroon highlands, only to be let down by poor finishing.
Unmarked Boulaye Dia missed a good chance at the far post when he failed to connect with a free-kick and Abdou Diallo had a header brilliantly tipped over by Guinea goalkeeper Aly Keita.
A forceful run by Mane set up Sarr, who wasted a great chance when he beat a defender only to fire wide with Keita helpless.
No goals as Liverpool duo Mane and Keita become rivals in Africa
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No goals as Liverpool duo Mane and Keita become rivals in Africa
- Scoring chances were few in the afternoon heat of Bafoussam with Senegal the more wasteful side
- Guinea and Senegal will go into the final round of group matches on Tuesday
Chelsea paid for costly errors in Arsenal defeat, says Rosenior
LONDON: Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea paid the price for costly mistakes after Arsenal took advantage of his side’s blunders to win 3-2 in the League Cup semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
Rosenior’s team face a tough task to set up a final against either Manchester City or Newcastle following their error-strewn display in their new manager’s first home match.
Chelsea were guilty of sloppy marking for Ben White’s early headed opener before goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gifted striker Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal’s second goal after half-time.
Alejandro Garnacho got one back for Chelsea but Martin Zubimendi then netted for Arsenal after more lacklustre defending from Rosenior’s men.
Substitute Garnacho’s second goal gave Chelsea a glimmer of hope heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in February.
“Disappointed to concede from a corner. Disappointed with the third goal as well because we were right back in the game and we were on top at that moment,” Rosenior said.
“We switched off from a restart from a central free-kick but I can’t fault the players.
“We need to make sure we perform well individually and we don’t concede as many goals.”
Rosenior was without a host of key players, including Cole Palmer, Reece James and Liam Delap, due to injuries and illness.
‘It’s another step’
In his second game since replacing Enzo Maresca as Blues boss, the 41-year-old took heart from the way Chelsea kept fighting to find a way back into the tie.
“We’ve had illness in the squad, we’ve picked up a few knocks this week but what the squad has shown is that they are willing to run and fight for each other,” he said.
Rosenior, who oversaw a 5-1 FA Cup third-round win at Charlton in his debut last weekend, refused to condemn Sanchez for the latest in a long line of shaky performances.
“Rob’s a very good goalkeeper. He made an outstanding save at 3-1 to keep us in the tie, so for me load of things to improve but the overall attitude of the team I liked,” Rosenior said.
“Hopefully, we get a few bodies back for Brentford on Saturday.”
Arsenal are now unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions as they moved a step closer to their first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup.
The Gunners had lost their previous four semifinals across a variety of competitions, including the League Cup last year.
Mikel Arteta was impressed with Arsenal’s ability to subdue Chelsea for long periods, but he was left to rue their failure to kill off their London rivals.
“I have to praise the players for the performance against a really good opponents. It’s a really tough place to come. That’s why I really value what the team has done again,” Arteta said.
“We had two massive chances to score the fourth one and the result would have been very different. At that moment they created a chance and scored a goal. So it is a very different feeling. It’s game on.”
As well as leading the Premier League, Arsenal are also still chasing Champions League and FA Cup glory.
But after so many last-four failures in the recent past, Arteta won’t take anything for granted.
“It’s another step. It’s just half-time. We know the big fight we are going to have at the Emirates in a few weeks because they are a top side,” he said.
“What we’re doing every three days is impressive.”
