Senegal 1-1 Ivory Coast (4-5 on penalties): A feisty clash ends in heartbreak for the 2021 AFCON winners
Senegal led for 82 minutes, but sustained pressure and a late comeback from the hosts were too much for the defending champions. They fell to Ivory Coast in penalties after Moussa Niakhaté missed Senegal’s third kick.
After a feisty clash, the holders are headed home; the AFCON hosts move on to the quarter-finals.
The opener came in the fourth minute as Sadio Mané narrowly kept the ball in play and passed it to Habib Diallo who chested it down and fired into the top left corner. Mané leaves the tournament with a team high of three assists.
Diallo and Mané combined for the opener
The ex-Liverpool man was perhaps lucky to stay on the field. He came in with a studs-up challenge on Ibrahim Sangaré, but it only earned him a yellow card.
Ivory Coast had most of the possession in the first half. However, they only notched two shots, with one on target.
Senegal started the second half in a similar manner to the first half as Ismaïla Sarr forced a fingertips save from Yahia Fofana to keep it 1-0. The home-crowd faced another scare in the 55th minute when Odilon Kossounou tackled Ismaïla in the box, but the referee and VAR decided against intervening.
Yahia Fofana in action. He made two vital saves to keep the Elephants in the game.
The momentum changed with the introduction of Nicolas Pépé in the 65th minute. The Trabzonspor winger had a great chance saved by Mendy in the 77th minute. Less than five minutes later, Mendy crashed through Pépé’s legs. The ref first signalled for a corner kick, but was sent to the monitor by VAR and then pointed to the penalty spot. Substitute Franck Kessié stepped up and coolly slotted home to level it at one in the 86th minute.
GAME ON! 💪
Ivory Coast are level ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/Qjwmda8OGh
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 29, 2024
Ivory Coast finished regular time strong, but could not find the winner, sending the game to extra time. Ivory Coast’s captain, Serge Aurier, created the first chance of extra time. He saw his long-distance shot travel through Mané’s legs and just wide of the left post.
Mané then had a great chance to give the lead back to Senegal at 105 minutes, but Fofana made another vital save. Neither side could break the deadlock, so another AFCON game went to penalties.
Senegal were the first to blink on the third penalty as Niakhaté hit the left post. Ivory Coast scored their first four penalties. It all came down to Mané to keep the shootout going.
The Elephants celebrate their comeback win after the final penalty
Mané scored right down the middle, sending it back to Ivory Coast to clinch the win. Once again, Kessié stepped up to the penalty spot. The midfielder made no mistake sending the host nation on to the quarter-finals and eliminating the 2021 champions, Senegal.
What next for Ivory Coast?
The Elephants play next on Saturday, February 3 at 17:00 GMT. They will learn their quarter-final opponents after tomorrow’s Mali v. Burkina Faso contest.
Feature image credit: Ben Sutherland
