Here is why Sadio Mane was disappointed with Senegal’s pitch

Senegal forward Sadio Mane has hit out at the poor state of the pitch of Stade Lat Dior after Saturday’s Group A 2-0 win over Madagascar. The win over Madagascar saw Senegal finishing their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualification campaign unbeaten.

A brace by Mbaye Niang saw the Teranga Lions complete their qualification campaign unbeaten with five wins and a draw, having already booked an Afcon berth with a match to spare.

But despite the win, Liverpool forward Mane was left displeased with the state of the turf in Senegal’s third-biggest city of Thies.

“We are happy with the result, even if it is not our best match but the main thing was to win, to take the three points,” Mane said. Now, we are the leaders of the group and I think that was the most important (thing). The state of the field was not really good, a country like Senegal, we must try to improve the football fields so that we can flourish.”

Senegal are touted as one of the contenders at the Afcon finals in Egypt in June. The West Africans have never won an Afcon title despite their famous campaign in the 2002 Fifa World Cup where they reached the quarter-finals in Japan and South Korea.