Sadio Mane makes feelings clear on Mohamed Salah after heated AFCON showdown

Sadio Mane scored the only goal of the game as Senegal booked their place in the Africa Cup of Nations final at the expense of Mohamed Salah's Egypt in Cameroon

Sadio Mane ended the hopes of former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah at AFCON.(Image: )

Former Liverpool winger Sadio Mané has lauded ex-teammate Mohamed Salah for his Egypt performances despite crushing his Africa Cup of Nations dreams. The Senegal legend netted the decisive goal to secure his country's spot in Sunday's final against Morocco.

For Salah, attention turns to claiming bronze against Nigeria after being denied a place in the continent's premier fixture on penalties. The 33 year old must now bide his time for another opportunity to end the Pharaohs' pursuit of the trophy, which has remained beyond Salah and Egypt's reach since their victory in Angola 16 years ago.

The Liverpool striker will be 36 when the next tournament arrives, with Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania jointly hosting the competition between June and July 2027.

Speaking to BBC World Service, Mané said: "It is not easy for him - but still best of luck. He is one of the best players in the world. He always gives his best for the team,

"He did everything to carry his team until now. Unfortunately one of us had to [lose]. I'm happy [to be] in the final."

The pair shared an embrace before taking to the pitch, though the semi-final wasn't without controversy, as Salah fouled his former colleague to stop a counter-attack, triggering a fracas between the respective dugouts.

The Egyptian escaped sanction for the incident as both he and Mané acted as peacemakers to cool the rising tensions in the crucial semi-final. Mane departed Liverpool in 2022 to join Bayern Munich before cutting short his torrid spell in Bavaria to become part of the Saudi Pro League migration, teaming up with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Mohamed Salah saw his AFCON hopes ended by former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane.(Image: Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

It proved to be a familiar sense of heartbreak for Salah against his former Liverpool attacking colleague after Senegal crushed Egypt's dreams during the 2021 AFCON final.

The match remained scoreless after 120 minutes with Mane squandering a penalty within the opening 10 minutes, but he made amends during the penalty shootout to secure a memorable triumph. The 4-2 victory from the spot meant that Salah was robbed of the opportunity to rescue their position in the final with Mohamed Abdelmonem and Mohanad Lasheen both failing from 12 yards.

Salah had delivered outstanding performances for Houssam Hassan's squad throughout this edition of the tournament, finding the net four times with only Brahim Diaz managing more in the race for the golden boot.

The 33 year old found the back of the net in each of his opening four outings in the tournament, with a choice made to rest him in the meaningless clash against Angola in their concluding Group B fixture, including crucial contributions against Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Sadio Mane scored the winner as Senegal knocked out Mohamed Salah's Egypt.(Image: Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Egypt boss Hassan delivered a remarkable tirade following Egypt's semi-final elimination. He declared: "Egypt does not need excuses and apologies. Egypt is great and no one will dare to win seven titles like us.

"We just needed fairness like [Senegal]. We played the day after the Senegal match, who are playing in the semi on the same field, and I'm surprised by that. By what FIFA law is what happened to the Egypt team done?".

He went on to say, "When a team reaches the semis, do you honour it or torture it? It is expected that teams will be given a break fairly among them to see a great semi, but what happened is that the three teams got more rest.

"I told the players to ignore [the chants from the stands] and focus. I don't want to talk about it. We are Arabs of Africa, and Egypt is great, the mother of the Arabs and the mother of Africa in terms of history and titles, and everyone is jealous!".