A goalless draw was enough for Senegal to qualify for the knockout stage as the Group B leaders.
Malawi held Senegal to a 0-0 draw in their Africa Cup of Nations match on Tuesday. The Lions managed to end the group stage unbeaten while Malawi crashed out of the tournament.
Senegal lead the Group on ONE goal!
Senegal came into the match on the back of a goalless draw against Guinea. Before that, the Lions had defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 in their tournament opener.
Aliou Cisse’s side continued their barren run in front of goal against Malawi. Following a dominant start to the game, Senegal could not find the opener in their several attacks throughout the first half.
After the interval, the Lions continued to dominate the possession. However, they remained too cautious of their opponents’ counter-attacks, not bringing enough bodies forward to break the deadlock.
Malawi pushed to get a late match-winner in the final ten minutes but could not get past Senegal’s solid defence. The Flames came the closest when the referee awarded them a late penalty. However, upon reviewing by VAR, he decided to overturn the initial decision.
Elsewhere in the group, Guinea suffered a shock defeat against Zimbabwe, which secured Senegal’s place on top of the table. Guinea qualify for the last-16 round behind Senegal, while Malawi and Zimbabwe crash out of the continental tournament.
Player Ratings
Malawi: Thomu (7); Chirwa (6), Chaziya (6), Chembezi (6); Sanudi (7), Banda (7), Idana (6), Madinga (6); Mhango (5); Muyaba (6), Mhone (6).
Bench: Phiri (6), Ngalande (6), Mbulu (7), Chester (6).
Senegal: Mendy (7); Koulibaly (6), Diallo (6), Ciss (6); Sarr (8), Kouyaté (6), Gueye (7), N.Mendy (6); Dia (5), Mané (6), Diallo (5).
Bench: Dieng (6), P.Gueye (5), Ballo-Toure (7), Diédhiou (6).
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