Kenya 0-3 Senegal: 3 Reasons why The Teranga Lions won | African Cup of Nations 2019

Senegal took all points home this evening in extraordinary fashion. The Teranga Lions totally dominated the Harambee Stars in a 3-0 rout as Sadio Mane scored twice to book a place for Senegal in the last 16 of the African Cup Of Nations.

Senegal held 66% of the possession, holding a record 96% from the 35th minute to the 40th minute. Notably, the Lions held a minimum of 73% possession for nearly 30 straight minutes.

With 19 fouls conceded by the Kenyans, it wasn't unexpected that a 27th-minute foul in the 18-yard-box was conceded by Musa Mohammed.

Sadio Mane stepped up for Senegal to take the spot-kick but failed to beat Kenya goalkeeper Patrick Matasi who dived to the left bottom corner to make the save.

However, Senegal continued to dominate the proceedings. Although Matasi did an excellent job in keeping the Lions from biting, a cross from Lamine Gassama resulted in a 62nd-minute goal by Ismaila Sarr.

The Kenyans had a hard time dealing with the pressure from the Teranga Lions. Eventually, Sadio Mane capitalized on an error by Musa Mohammed to put a right-footed shot from outside the box past Matasi.

A foul by Philemon Otieno marred the evening with a second yellow card and a consequent red for the player.

Taking down Sarr in the box, the referee had no choice but to point at the spot for the second time in the game. This time, Sadio Mane converted the spotkick, scoring his brace within seven minutes, and sending Senegal into the knockout stage on a high note.

We take a look at three reasons why Senegal beat the Harambee Stars.

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#1 The Teranga Lions absolutely dominated the game

As mentioned above, Senegal had over 73% possession for 30 straight minutes - from the 25th to the 55th minute.

The Lions also controlled the game on every other front. They had more shots on goal - 16 - and Kenya was lucky not to concede more than three. They also had much more in terms of aerial success, dribbles, and passing accuracy.

With 56% of aerial duels won, thirteen dribbles compared to Kenya's five, and a pass accuracy of 87% compared to Kenya's 70%, it isn't that shocking that the Stars couldn't score a single goal.

While the Kenyans got more tackles in than the Senegalese, they wouldn't be too happy about how many fouls - and penalties - they committed. Their meagre two shots on target will also be a reason to do a little soul-searching.

#2 The Kenyans committed too many fouls

Kenya had 16 fouls, managed to concede two of them in the penalty box, and topped off the evening with a red card

While committing tactical fouls is a very important part of modern football, being ill-disciplined on the pitch will never be a good thing.

Kenya had 16 fouls, managed to concede two of them in the penalty box, and topped off the evening with a red card.

This doesn't even account for the fouls the referee did not give. If that doesn't reek of poor discipline on the field, nothing else does. While tackling and keeping the opponents - especially strong ones like Senegal - at bay is important, keeping a cool head is just as necessary.

The Kenyans failed to keep their composure and that guided them towards their worst outing in this edition of AFCON.

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#3 Senegal's right-wingers pushed the team to win

Sarr was exceptional for Senegal

The best player on the field today was arguably Gassama who got two assists to his name. The next contender would be his right-wing counterpart Sarr.

Between both of them, there were loads of creative moments that drove the whole team forward. Gassama, while taking care of defensive duties, spent a lot of time helping Senegal out in the final third. He linked up very well with Ismaila Sarr who scored the first goal and drew the foul that produced Mane's spotkick goal.

While the whole team still has a lot of work to do, especially looking at their poor first-half display, it is clear that Aliou Cisse can bank on the current holders of the right-wing positions to do the job when no one else can.