Pape Gueye’s extra-time goal was enough to seal a second Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title for Senegal, after chaotic scenes at the end of normal time saw the West Africans walk off the pitch and Brahim Diaz miss a penalty for Morocco in the 24th minute of injury time.
The lengthy delay came after the spot kick was awarded via the intervention of the video assistant referee (VAR), sparking angry scenes on the touchline and in the crowd, with Senegal fans clashing with security after attempting to break on to the pitch.
After waiting so long to take his penalty, Diaz was under immense pressure, having been handed the chance to end his country’s 50-year wait to lift the Afcon trophy with essentially the final kick of the game, but his decision to chip the ball down the middle backfired horrendously as Edouard Mendy was able to stand his ground and collect in embarrassingly simple fashion.
After 90 minutes which were largely devoid of obvious goalscoring opportunities, the unsavoury scenes at the end were a poor advert for African football, especially with Morocco talking up this tournament as a test event for co-hosting the 2030 Fifa World Cup.
Chances did come at both ends after Gueye’s strike four minutes into extra time, but the closest Morocco came to an equaliser was when Nayef Aguerd powered a header against the bar from a corner.
And as the rain poured down in Rabat, Morocco’s dream of a first continental crown since 1976 was washed away in dramatic fashion.
Senegal were understandably jubilant at the end, having somehow found a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but the sight of celebrating players being separated from their supporters by massed ranks of police in riot gear said everything about the way this game finished.
Having won a first title by beating Egypt on penalties at the 2021 edition, many of the same players returned here for a second bite of the cherry, including talisman Sadio Mane, who has hinted heavily that this will be his last appearance at an Afcon.
But unlike in Cameroon, this time the Teranga Lions were up against the hosts and the fiery atmosphere inside the impressive Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
A first-ever meeting between the two teams at a finals saw Morocco edge proceedings in the first half, but Senegal have the best openings.
Yassine Bounou made a good scrambling save at his far post to keep out Gueye’s goalbound header from a corner, while the African goalkeeper of the year also denied Iliman Ndiaye with a trailing leg.
The start of the second half saw a fired up Morocco exert greater dominance, pinning back their opponents, but still struggling to create clear-cut chances.
In fact, the Atlas Lions got lucky at the start of injury time when Ismaila Sarr nodded the ball into the net after Abdoulaye Seck’s initial header came back off the woodwork after a corner.
However, referee Jean Jacques Ndala had already blown his whistle, awarding a very soft foul for contact between Seck and Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi.
But that was just the start of the drama, as what followed will inevitably be what this game is remembered for.
With eight minutes having originally been added on, Ndala was advised by VAR to check a tug by West Ham defender El Hadji Malick Diouf on Diaz from a corner, with the Congolese deciding to award the spot kick.
What started out as fierce complaints by the Senegalese players quickly descended into chaos on the touchline as both benches emptied onto the pitch.
Having gone head-to-head with opposite number Walid Regragui, Senegal coach Pape Thiaw called his players down the tunnel, while West African fans, some wielding metal chairs, also attempted to fight their way on to the playing surface.
Following a lengthy delay, with Mane the only Teranga Lions player who looked truly uncomfortable with the walk-off, everyone returned to the pitch and Diaz was finally able to take his penalty for what should have been a celebratory moment for his country.
But with history beckoning, the Real Madrid man tried to showboat with a Panenka and paid the price in a way which he is unlikely to ever forget.
Morocco, Africa’s top team in the world rankings, came into this tournament feeling like they had a date with destiny.
For more than a decade, King Mohammed VI has poured huge sums of money into the game, using it as a tool for societal and cultural change, a move which resulted in the Atlas Lions becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final at Qatar 2022.
But this Afcon was supposed to be their crowing achievement, the moment to end a long trophy drought stretching back to 1976.
Instead, they become just the fourth hosts to lose in a final – having seen the past 12 who have reach the showpiece end up as champions.
The moment which broke their hearts came from Villarreal man Gueye, a towering midfield presence who has been one of the tournament’s standout players.
Having burst forward from just inside the Moroccan half, he shrugged off a tired-looking challenge from Hakimi just outside the box and smashed a left-foot rocket into the top right-hand corner, clipping the underside of the bar as it went in.
Morocco did their best to fight back, with substitute Youssef En-Nesyri stooping to head just wide at the near post 10 minutes after Gueye’s goal and Aguerd’s header off the bar following in the second half of extra time.
But Senegal also had chances to extend their lead, with Paris St-Germain teenager Ibrahim Mbaye’s slaloming run and shot blocked by a lunging Hakimi and Cherif Ndiaye denied by a brilliant double save from Bounou.
At the other end, Mendy was being bombarded with missiles thrown by fans behind his goal, with one invader making it onto the pitch next to the former Chelsea stopper before security managed to force him away.
The recriminations over the way in which this game ended will go on for some time – but Senegal are unlikely to care.
If this is to be Mane’s final Afcon he has bowed out in style, and the sight of him being hoisted on to the shoulders of his team-mates, trophy in hand and having had the captain’s armband thrust upon him, will hopefully last longer.
