Tipped as one of the favourites before the tournament, the Teranga Lions failed to roar against a well-disciplined Malawi. Senegal enjoyed a near monopoly on possession but showed little creativity. Still, thanks to Zimbabwe’s win over Guinea, Senegal win Group B.
It is remarkable that Senegal have come out on top of Group B. They scored only one goal – from a dubious penalty in the depths of injury time in their lacklustre opening performance against Zimbabwe. But the latter’s 2-1 victory over Guinea means that no one else has performed any better.
For the first couple of minutes, it looked like Senegal were finally bursting to life in their last group game. But for the rest of the match they dominated possession – with listless passing and blunt attacking. Their talisman Sadio Mané did a great job at keeping the ball when nearly surrounded by Malawi’s valiant defence – but the Liverpool star excelled at nothing else during this match.
Everything is of course up for grabs in the knockout rounds – but judging by their three uninspired group stage performances, Senegal no longer seem like such hot prospects.
Read FRANCE 24’s liveblog to see how the action unfolded:
