Senegal are through to the quarterfinal of the AFCON 2021 after edging out Cape Verde 2-0 in an eventful knockout match.Sadio Mane scored first for Senegal, then came off and his replacement Bamba Dieng scored the second goal to send the Lions of Teranga to the last eight.The game had everything but a penalty, two red cards both after a review by the VAR, a classic goal by the Liverpool forward, and two seemingly serious injuries in which Senegal will be hoping that their goal scorer will be passed fit to feature in the next round.Mane did not come to play, and he announced his presence just seconds in the game with a well taken shot that was rebounded back into the field of play by the right post.Patrick Andrade was given his marching orders just 20 minutes in the game after a foul on Pape Gueye. The referee had shown a yellow card initially, but after consulting the VAR he reviewed his card and dug to his back pocket for a red.Full-timeSenegal 2-0 Cape Verde #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/ytUw1N8O8t— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) January 25, 2022 Despite the numerical disadvantage, Cape Verde tried to match Senegal in all aspects, perhaps borrowing from Comoros spirited fight on Monday against the hosts Cameroon.None of the two sides managed to break the deadlock in the first half as they went for the break level, Senegal probably feeling they should have capitalized on the extra man.On resumption for the second half, Senegal took the game to Cape Verde with an aim of taking the lead, stringing a series of attacks in the early stages of the period.They were however dealt another blow when Vozinha was shown a red card after a nasty collision with Mane just outside the 18-area, despite being on a stretcher.#TeamSenegal advance to the quarter-finals for the fourth successive time 🦁#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/ZXxr90Pilk— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 25, 2022 Vozinha had come off his line while Mane was racing towards the ball, and the two had a clash of heads mid-air that left the Blue Sharks custodian seemingly confused and had to be taken off immediately, with a red card following him and Cape Verde had to play with nine men.Garry Rodrigues was sacrificed for Marcio Rosa, a tough work shift for the goalkeeper as attacks would follow heavily.Mane struck the opening goal for the Lions of Teranga just four minutes after Rosa came on with a well-taken curling ball after Cape Verde failed to deal with a corner. There were protests on that goal but it stood even after the center referee had his third trip to the VAR box.After that goal, it was all Senegal even as Mane came off having been unable to continue shortly after the goal.Bamba Dieng came on for Sadio Mane and went on to take from where he had left, scoring the second goal in stoppage time to seal the game for Senegal.
