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| Egypt's forward Mohamed Salah (L) vies for the ball against Senegal's forward Sadio Mane (R) during the 2022 Qatar World Cup African Qualifiers football match between Egypt and Senegal at Cairo International Stadium in the Egyptian capital on March 25, 2022. |
Sadio Mane has admitted he was just 'luckier' to come out on top against Mohamed Salah in both the Africa Cup of Nations final and Senegal's win over Egypt that sealed their place at the World Cup on Tuesday night.
Just weeks after the Liverpool team-mates collided for African football's top prize in Cameroon, they squared off again in a decisive World Cup play-off in Dakar.
After the tie finished 1-1 on aggregate across the two legs, Salah blazed his penalty over the bar in the shootout before Mane scored the decisive spot kick, just as he did in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
But Mane, who will return to Anfield looking to complete a remarkable quadruple alongside Salah with Liverpool, insists he was very fortunate to win both games.
I won twice and he lost twice, I was luckier to come out on top,' Mane told ONTime Sports, as reported by KingFut.
I am very proud that we won the Africa Cup of Nations and now qualified for the World Cup, it's a dream I had.
I believe it was a difficult game for both teams. Our fans pushed us to win and we didn't stop fighting.
We knew the game wouldn't be easy, but we pressed to score.
The game has caused huge controversy though after Salah and his Egypt team-mates were targeted by lasers throughout the game and allegedly subjected to racist abuse.
Officials protected the Liverpool star as missiles were aimed at him as he went down the tunnel
جماهير السنغال تقذف محمد صلاح بزجاجات المياه ويخرج في حماية الأمن pic.twitter.com/gVINqbS2fk
— Kora Plus (@KoraPlusEG) March 29, 2022
Salah had to be escorted off the pitch by security guards after he was initially confronted by a Senegal fan as they invaded the pitch to celebrate at full-time but security guards managed to pull him aside.
But as Salah made his way towards the tunnel, he was then targeted with several objects thrown from above in the stands at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium in Dakar.
Salah's security team did all they could to protect and shield him from the debris as supporters had a clear shot at the former Chelsea and Roma star in the tunnel area.
It comes after the Egyptian FA claimed their team - and Salah 'in particular' - were subjected to racist abuse from Senegal fans.
The Egypt national team have been exposed to racism with offensive signs in the stands against the Egyptian players in general, and Mohamed Salah in particular, said a statement from the country's FA.
Egypt claimed the team had been subjected to the abuse from the moment they arrived at the stadium after their bus was 'assaulted'.
The crowd also intimidated the players by throwing bottles and rocks on them during the warm-up.
The Egyptian group's busses have also been exposed to assaults that led to broken windows and injuries; filed with pictures and videos as proof in the complaint submitted.
