Paris (AFP) – Sadio Mane goes into Senegal’s friendly against Brazil in Singapore on Thursday after playing a pivotal role for Liverpool in a dramatic 2-1 Premier League win over Leicester.
The Senegalese was the star African performer in the major European leagues, putting the Reds ahead, before a foul on him also led to James Milner converting a stoppage-time penalty.
Fellow Liverpool star Egyptian Mohamed Salah limped off after a foul that angered manager Jurgen Klopp, who fumed: “It was done to slow Mo down and that is not okay.”
ENGLAND
SADIO MANE (Liverpool)
The Senegal winger was Liverpool’s star as they made it 17 successive Premier League victories with a dramatic 2-1 win against Leicester at Anfield. Mane put Liverpool ahead in the 40th minute with a fine finish. It was his eighth goal of the season and 50th in the league for the Reds. Then, after Leicester equalised, it was Mane who won a penalty when he was fouled by Marc Albrighton and Milner converted the spot-kick.
MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)
The Egypt forward suffered an ankle injury that forced him to limp off during Liverpool’s win against Leicester. Salah was hurt in the last minute after Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury trapped the Liverpool star’s ankle under his body with a crude lunge. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp didn’t confirm the extent of Salah’s injury.
JORDAN AYEW (Crystal Palace)
The Ghana striker scored his third goal of the season to give Palace a VAR-assisted 2-1 win at West Ham. Ayew slotted home from close range in the 87th minute, but it took a long VAR review before Martin Kelly was confirmed as onside when he headed down for the Palace forward to finish.
ITALY
KWADWO ASAMOAH (Inter Milan)
Ghana defender Asamoah struggled to contain his former club Juventus as Inter Milan lost 2-1 to suffer their first Serie A defeat this season. The 30-year-old — who won six league titles with Juventus before moving to Inter in 2018 — got his sixth start this season.
AMADOU DIAWARA (Roma)
Guinean midfielder Diawara, playing just his third game from Roma, suffered a knee injury after half an hour in their 1-1 home draw against Cagliari. The 22-year-old, who arrived at the capital side from Napoli this season, has reportedly suffered a torn meniscus and could be out for up to two months.
FRANCK KESSIE (AC Milan)
Kessie scored the winner from the penalty spot to get AC Milan back on the winning trail with a 2-1 victory in Genoa after three consecutive defeats. It was the Ivorian’s first goal this season and extended his impressive record from the spot, converting nine of the 10 Serie A penalties he has taken, including the last four.
CHRISTIAN KOUAME (Genoa)
Ivorian Kouame earned a late penalty for Genoa when he was brought down by AC Milan goalkeeper Pepe Reina. But Reina, a 2010 World Cup winner with Spain, denied Lasse Schone from the spot as a winless Genoa run stretched to five games.
GERMANY
ACHRAF HAKIMI (Dortmund)
Morocco international Hakimi got on the scoresheet when his fierce cross cannoned off Freiburg defender Lukas Kuebler to put Dortmund 2-1 up in the second half of their 2-2 draw. Hakimi, who scored two goals in Dortmund’s midweek Champions League win at Slavia Prague, was a consistent threat.
SALIF SANE (Schalke)
Senegal centre-back Sane helped Schalke take a late lead at home to Cologne when his towering header was nodded home by midfielder Suat Serdar. However, his side blew the chance to usurp Bayern Munich in top spot when they conceded a 91st-minute goal to draw 1-1 in Gelsenkirchen.
IHLAS BEBOU (Hoffenheim)
Togolese forward Bebou played a crucial role in his side’s surprise 2-1 win at previously unbeaten Bayern Munich. After forcing a save from Manuel Neuer midway through the first half, Bebou’s jinking runs asked questions of a disjointed Munich backline, allowing strike partner Sargis Adamyan to capitalise, scoring twice.
FRANCE
VICTOR OSIMHEN (Lille)
The 20-year-old Nigerian forward grabbed his league-best seventh goal of the season to salvage a 2-2 draw against Nimes. Osimhen lashed home an equaliser from close range on 79 minutes after a goalmouth scramble. He has scored in all six home games for Lille in all competitions
MOSES SIMON (Nantes)
Nantes head into the international break as the closest challengers to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 after Simon’s 86th-minute header secured a 1-0 win over Nice. The on-loan Nigerian headed in a cross from Kader Bamba for his second match-winning goal since arriving from Spanish club Levante.
