It was a mixed day for Sadio Mane as he scored and then went off with a head injury as Senegal beat nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 in their last 16 clash of the Africa Cup of Nations at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam on Tuesday.
Mane fired home after 62 minutes but had been hurt earlier in a nasty clash of heads with Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who was sent off for the incident.
The Liverpool forward then left the field shortly afterwards complaining of a headache and is now doubtful for Senegal’s quarter-final in Limbe on Sunday.
Substitute Bamba Dieng scored the second in stoppage time against a spirited Cape Verde side, who also had Patrick Andrade shown a straight red card midway through the first half.
Despite having fewer players on the field, Cape Verde contained Senegal attacks until Mane came close to breaking the deadlock six minutes before half-time.
A slick exchange of passes inside the box set Mane free, but Vozinha and Steven Fortes combined to block his attempt.
Cape Verde were then reduced to nine men when Vozinha was sent off 12 minutes into the second half. The goalkeeper and Mane collided as they chased a long pass and after checking the replays, the referee flashed the red card to the goalkeeper, who had left the field suffering from concussion.
Senegal were quick to take advantage of their numerical superiority as Mane scored with a superbly placed shot into the roof of the net when a corner was only partially cleared by Nuno Borges. Mane thus ended a 243-minute Senegal goal drought.
"It was a difficult game because Cape Verde were very organised," said Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly. "It was even more difficult after the first red card as they really ran around a bit but we can be happy we did the job."
The match in Bafoussam started with a minute's silence for the victims of the deadly crush at the Olembe Stadium on Monday.
Senegal face either Mali or Equatorial Guinea in the last eight.
