Liverpool’s Sadio Mane suffers concussion scare as Senegal reach quarter-finals

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane suffered a concussion scare while helping Senegal book their place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over nine-man Cape Verde.

Mane was involved in a clash of heads with Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha early during the second half of the last-16 tie in Bafoussam.

Following treatment for the mid-air collision in the 53rd minute when chasing a long ball upfield, Mane was allowed to continue while Vozinha, shown a red card for the foul, was carried off the pitch on a stretcher and taken to hospital.

Mane went on to break the deadlock in the 63rd minute, clipping the ball in off the underside of the crossbar after it fell to him at the back post from a corner.

There was a lengthy VAR review of a possible foul before the goal was confirmed, after which Mane dropped onto the pitch holding his head before eventually being helped off and substituted, with details emerging later the Liverpool player had also been taken to hospital for checks.

Senegal made sure of progress when Bamba Dieng scored a second on the counter attack during stoppage time.

It remains to be seen whether Mane will be able to feature for the Lions of Teranga in the quarter-final on Sunday against either Mali or Equatorial Guinea.

Later on Tuesday, both Mane and Vozinha were pictured together smiling and giving the thumbs up from hospital.

Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse told reporters after the match that Mane had been “dizzy” so was taken for further tests.

Writing on his Instagram account alongside the picture from the hospital, Mane said: “Everything is fine, thank you all for the messages.”

Before kick-off, there was a minute’s silence in respect of those who died or were injured in the crush at the Paul Biya Stadium in Olembe on Monday night ahead of Cameroon’s last-16 tie with Comoros.

Cape Verde had been reduced to 10 men after just 21 minutes when midfielder Patrick Andrade was sent off for treading on Pape Gueye’s ankle after the referee reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor having initially shown a yellow card.

In Tuesday’s evening match, Morocco came from behind to beat Malawi 2-1 at Yaounde’s Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium.

Malawi, through to the knockout stages for the first time after qualifying as one of the best third-placed teams, took a shock lead in the seventh minute when Gabadinho Mhango cut in from the left to fire a spectacular long-range effort into the top corner.

However, the Flames – minnows in the tournament at 129th in the FIFA rankings – were soon pegged back as Wolves defender Romain Saiss sent a close-range effort against the crossbar before Youssef En-Nesyri headed in an equaliser during first-half stoppage-time.

Morocco completed the turnaround with 20 minutes left when Paris St Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi converted another superb free-kick to send the Atlas Lions through to a quarter-final against either Egypt or Ivory Coast.