However, the Chelsea goalie claimed that his “brother” ought to have been sent off just hours before, so it may have been an awkward flight.

On Sunday night, the two 29-year-old Senegalese players departed London to join their national team in Cameroon for the postponed continental competition.

However, Mane made waves in the afternoon when, only SIX SECONDS into Liverpool’s match at Stamford Bridge, he escaped a red card.

The attacker led with an elbow to strike Cesar Azpilicueta as they were heading for a long ball.

However, he was given a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor.

By the end of the game, Azpilicueta was furious and had a black eye, thus he referred to the challenge as a “clear red.”

Chelsea’s manager, Thomas Tuchel, claimed that VAR did not even review the ruling. Mendy, Mane’s national teammate and friend, struggled to hold him off.

The goaltender said, “Sadio is my brother and fellow countryman,” to RMC Sport. However, he shouldn’t have remained on the field for another minute.

Even worse, eight minutes into the thrilling match, Mane scored the game’s opening goal.

Trevoh Chalobah pounced on a mistake made by Mendy, circumnavigating him to send the ball into the back of the net.

After that, Mo Salah scored past the top scorer for Senegal to make it 2-0, but goals from Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic before halftime tied the score. Group B includes Malawi, Zimbabwe, Guinea, and Senegal, which is captained by Mane and Mendy.

They will play their opening AFCON match against Zimbabwe on January 10 at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam.