Co-favourites Senegal, plagued by major Corona worries, got off to an arduous start in the Africa Cup with a win over Zimbabwe. The decisive goal by Liverpool star Mané only came in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
The indicated stoppage time had already expired when the finalists of 2019 drove a last attack after all. Olympique Marseille substitute Gueye took his shot in the box, Zimbabwe defender Madzongwe threw himself into the ball and Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar blew his whistle in horror at the underdogs who had fought so hard for so long.
Madzongwe had received the ball at the elbow and after lengthy discussions and a problematic VAR review – the TV picture of the scene was not available – Senegal’s star Mané stepped up to take the penalty in the 97th minute. One solid shot from the LFC star later, it was 1-0, and the game was over immediately afterwards.
For 90 minutes, Senegal had cut their teeth on Zimbabwe’s bulwark. The favourites from West Africa had arrived with heavy Corona worries, including Chelsea keeper Mendy and Napoli defender Koulibaly not starting due to positive tests, Bayern defender Sarr had to help out in midfield. Nevertheless, Mané & Co. were clearly superior, but repeatedly acted too sloppily in their finishing and could not put their superiority on the scoreboard despite several good chances – until the last action of the match.