Senegal winger Sadio Mane has revealed that it was a crucial achievement to get to two straight Afcon finals although admitted that the most important thing now is to go all the way and win it. The Liverpool winger was on target to help his homeland secure victory over Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

Senegal encountered Burkina Faso in the semi-finals of the Africa cup of nations in Yaounde on Wednesday. Senegal started the game brightly as they threatened to open the scoring twice before the break with two penalties being awarded in their favour only for the referee to change his mind on both occasions following a VAR review.

The Lions of Teranga eventually opened the scoring as Abdou Diallo slotted the ball home as he finished emphatically in the 70th minute. The second goal arrived on the 76th-minute mark as Sadio Mane set up Idrissa Gueye to slot home from inside the box.

Blati Toure pulled one back for Burkina Faso in the 82nd minute although his efforts were in vain as Sadio Mane scored the third goal in the 87th minute to seal Senegal’s entry into the finals. Senegal will find out their opponents in Sunday’s final on Thursday when hosts Cameroon take on Egypt in the second semi-finals of the tournament.

“It shows you the momentum we have. We knew it was not going to be at all easy to get to two straight Afcon finals, but the most important for us now is to go all the way and win it, whoever we come up against. We were up against a really good Burkina side who caused us a lot of problems,” Mane told the BBC.

“We expected a tough game and it was, but we stayed calm and created lots of chances. I think we deserved to win. I think you can see on my face how happy I am, which is completely normal. I am really proud personally and very happy for myself, my team-mates and the country,” he added.