Sunday’s final of the Africa Cup of Nations at 11 pm in Cameroon will likely be a showdown between Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane. The alleged rivalry between Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané is an issue that always comes up. This story began since the incident that occurred during the victory of Liverpool against Burnley (3-0), in 2019. The Egyptian Mohamed Salah and the Senegalese Sadio Mané, are the offensive assets of Liverpool, accumulating already 28 goals this season.
Egypt will be looking to win the Afcon title for a record eighth time. Senegal have never won the continent’s marquee tournament and will be eager to put that right.
Adding to the drama, there has been much media speculation over the years about relations between Salah and Mane — with reports of an intense rivalry.
The Egyptian, however, has been the more prolific scorer for the Reds since he arrived in Liverpool from Roma more than four years ago.
A win for Egypt — particularly with Salah getting on the scoresheet — could go a long way to enshrine the Egyptian’s standing as the superior striker.
And if that’s not enough to make Sunday’s final a thrilling affair, the two sides are scheduled to meet again in a World Cup home-and-away play-off next month that will decide which travels to Qatar for the World Cup finals later this year.
If history is anything to go by, then the Egyptians are favourites to win the Afcon title. The Pharaohs have won six of their 12 clashes, with Senegal victorious in four.
The Pharaohs have had a tough route to the final, and fatigue could be a significant factor in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde’s Olembe Stadium.
Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp is proud of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané ahead of the 2021 CAN final.
In a press conference before facing Cardiff in the FA Cup, Reds coach Jürgen Klopp was keen to express his pride in his two successful strikers in Cameroon for their journey, as well as the other LFC players who participated in the competition.
“All these things, all the experience that these boys get in these situations helps us, of course,” said the German coach in a press conference. In the short term, I’m not sure. In the long run, it will help them. It’s really very impressive to see. It’s very important that you go through this kind of thing. It’s obviously hard to get that far in a tournament, they’re superstars, so the pressure they had on their shoulders was huge. I’m really proud of the way they handled it, to be honest. Now two of them are in the final and yeah, we’re going to watch it.”
