Senegal will face Burkina Faso on Thursday in the AFCON 2021 semifinals after the Lions of Teranga survived Sunday’s rough-and-tumble 1/4 finals tie against Equatorial Guinea (3-1).The favourites were one up after 30 minutes of this physical and a bit dull first half played in Yaounde.It was one of those slow build-ups that didn’t promise much until the ball reached Sadio Mane, and the Liverpool forward executed a perfectly timed and placed assist for Famara Diedhiou, who placed it in the bottom, near corner for 1-0 on the verge of 30th minute.HALF TIME: Senegal 1-0 Equatorial GuineaFamara Diedhiou’s goal has Senegal ahead as Sadio Mane provided the assist. pic.twitter.com/m7zOBfNuTl— Luni Sport Gists (@lunigists) January 30, 2022 However, it turned out to be anything but a landslide victory. The charming minnows woke up after the half-time break and were rewarded a penalty five minutes into the second period due to Koulibaly’s handball in the area.However, after the VAR consultancy, the referee decided to cancel his previous decision, concluding the Senegalese captain had no intention of stopping the ball with his hand.Still, it didn’t stop the National Thunder from hitting back their opponents. Ganet’s lovely pass found Jannick Buyla behind the enemy lines, whose strike was as clever as possible, giving Edouard Mendy no chance to deny it as it flew in the back of the net.GOAL! EQUATORIAL GUINEA!Jannick Buyla with a nice end to a perfect team goal.Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 1-1 🇸🇳 Senegal#AFCON2021pic.twitter.com/u0zbphYiyz— African Insider #AFCON2021🏆 (@African_Insider) January 30, 2022 We had got our game back at that moment, but the decision of the Senegalese coach Aliou Cisse to pour in some fresh into his a bit tired squad proved as crucial.Cheikhou Kouyate reacted superbly following a horrible misunderstanding between the two rival’s defenders, only three minutes after coming in from the bench. GOAL! SENEGAL!Kouyaté puts Senegal ahead.Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 1-2 🇸🇳 Senegal#AFCON2021pic.twitter.com/PbcMJ9EY8Z— African Insider #AFCON2021🏆 (@African_Insider) January 30, 2022 Crystal Palace player carefully followed an awkward piece of a pinball in the opponents’ box and hit it smoothly for 2-1 to change the game’s momentum thoroughly.GOAL! SENEGAL!Ismaïla Sarr’s legs are in working order to ring the knell for La Roja.Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 1-3 🇸🇳 Senegal#AFCON2021pic.twitter.com/2rbDmIpWbZ— African Insider #AFCON2021🏆 (@African_Insider) January 30, 2022 The game was killed ten minutes later, thanks to incredible Mane, who strolled down the left flank with such ease before placing the ball on Ismaila Sarr’s right for 3-1 and the place in the semifinals.
