Senegal 4-0 Malawi: Player ratings as Lions of Teranga run riot in second half to secure big win

Senegal crushed Malawi 4-0 in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Pape Gueye opened the scoring for the Lions of Teranga in the 35th minute before Sadio Mane, Boulaye Dia and Nicolas Jackson all struck apiece in the second half to bury their hapless visitors. Malawi were also struck with an early disaster when their goalkeeper Brighton Munthali was sent off after only 16 minutes, and Senegal capitalized on their numerical advantage. Here are the player ratings:

Senegal National Football Team Player Ratings vs Malawi

Goalkeeper

Seny Dieng – 7

Had a comfortable outing with Mauritania rarely threatening.

Defenders

Formose Mendy – 7

Distributed the ball well and created a few chances too, but was somehow taken off in just the 52nd minute.

Kalidou Koulibaly – 6.5

Passed the ball around well and even looked to get his side forward with a series of long balls.

Moussa Niakhate – 6

Held the fort well with his positional awareness, strength on the ball and distribution skills.

Ismail Jakobs – 7

Managed to pluck the ball off his rivals a few times while also laying a series of crosses for his forwards.

Midfielders

Pape Gueye – 8

Broke the deadlock for Senegal with a clinical strike.

Lamine Camara – 7

Strong in the air and drove forward many times to lay crosses.

Forwards

Ismaila Sarr – 7.5

Was the creative inspiration for the Lions of Teranga, even assisting Mane for their second.

Iliman Ndiaye – 7

Fought valiantly for possession and came away victorious many times; bagged the assist for their opening goal.

Sadio Mane – 8

Doubled Senegal’s advantage with a clinical strike.

Nicolas Jackson – 6.5

Dumbfounded Malawi’s defense with his movements, and scored their fourth goal.

Substitutes

Habib Diarra – 6

Got on the ball often but offered no great shakes.

Idrissa Gueye – 6

Lacked any sort of attacking flair or impetus.

Boulaye Dia – 8

Scored their third of the evening to put the tie to bed.

Manager

Aliou Cisse – 8

Another big win for Aliou Cisse, who is on the brink of guiding his side to the AFCON finals once again.

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Malawi National Football Team Player Ratings vs Senegal

Goalkeeper

Brighton Munthali – 3/10

Got himself sent off in the 16th minute, forcing his side to play with 10-men for most of the game.

Defenders

Stanley Sanudi – 4

Horribly misplaced his passes and left acres of space in behind for the wide players to exploit.

Nickson Mwale – 6.5

With five clearances, Mwale demonstrated excellent vision, but struggled to win his duels.

Denis Chembezi – 7

Made five clearances and blocked three shots to come up big for his side defensively.

Timothy Silwimba – 6.5

Looked to impede Senegal’s movements with perfectly-timed tackles and vital interceptions.

Midfielders

Wisdom Mpinganjira – 6

Couldn’t regain possession despite his best efforts.

Lloyd Njaliwa – 5

Woefully poor in his duels and even went into the books for a foul.

John Christopher Banda – 6

Helped out defensively a few times but ultimately couldn’t match Senegal’s quality.

Lanjesi Nkhoma – 4

Completely invisible; never even made an attempt to drift into the game.

Forwards

Chawa – 5.5

Not much of a threat, as both his efforts were off target; taken off at the break.

Patrick Mwaungulu – 6

Didn’t see much action for the 16 minutes that he was on the field for before being sacrificed for their goalkeeper’s red card.

Substitutes

George Chokooka – 4

Terrible at passing while most of his long balls were inaccurate.

Chimwemwe Idana – 5

Passed the ball around well to keep his side moving.

Yamikani Chester – 6

Did nothing wrong but frankly, very minimal involvement.

Zeliat Nkhoma – 4

The game just flew past him.

Manager

Patrick Mabedi – 5

The Malawian manager came away undone with a series of poor substitutions. His decision to play defensively after the red card also backfired spectacularly.

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