By Safiu Kehinde
Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Eduoard Mendy returned to the Senegalese squad with a clean sheet at a goalless final group stage match against Malawi in the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament, on Tuesday.
Mendy who made his first appearance of the tournament was ruled out of Senegal’s first and second match after testing positive of Covid-19 alongside fellow teammates, Koulibay and Idris Gueye. The trio who plied their trade at Chelsea, Napoli, and PSG respectively were sidelined before the tournament’s opener.
Meanwhile, despite the return of the trio, Senegal failed to nail the Malawians. With star-studded forwards which include Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, Keita Balde, and H.M. Diallo, the Lions could only score one goal across the three group matches. A 1-0 win against Zimbabwe and two goalless draw were, however, enough to send Senegal through next stage as they topped the Group B table with five points.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Senegal was among the favorites to win the African Cup of Nations. But their performance so far, according to some analysts, is below expectation.
