Story bySenegal's Sadio Mane scored the winning penalty in the 2021 Afcon final but has now secured his second continental crown - and was named most valuable player at the 2025 finals []Rob Stevens - BBC Sport Africa; Charlotte Coates - BBC Sport journalistSun, January 18, 2026 at 11:58 PM UTC·7 min readSadio Mane was the hero for Senegal once again, but not for the reasons you would expect. The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward claimed his second Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) crown on Sunday, with the Teranga Lions beating host nation Morocco in a final filled with controversy. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn stoppage time, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw tried to usher his team off the field after Morocco were awarded a penalty in the 98th minute when defender El Hadji Malick Diouf brought down Brahim Diaz. With the Senegal players back in the changing rooms, Mane was pictured entering and then ushering them back out on to the pitch. Roughly 16 minutes after the spot-kick was awarded, Diaz's Panenka penalty was easily caught by Edouard Mendy in a nightmare moment for one of the stars of the tournament. At 0-0 the game went to extra time. Pape Gueye rocketed in a winner and sealed a dramatic title. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMane, who has said this will be his last Afcon, goes out as a leader - having been presented with the captain's armband by his team-mates before the trophy was lifted. Former Nigeria forward Daniel Amokachi told BBC World Service: "Mane went the extra mile to get his team back and it has paid off."What an ambassador for football he is. We know the kind of person he is off the pitch and he knows what football is all about."Former Morocco international Hassan Kachloul said "Africa football and world football were losing" until Mane intervened."What I like more than anything, the only player from the Senegalese team was Sadio Mane," he told E4. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"That shows the great man he is.