“It’s the best day of my life and the best trophy of my life.”

That’s what Sadio Mane said after clinching the African Cup of Nations trophy with his winning penalty against Egypt, and it shows how much this tournament means to African Players. There has been talk about there needing to be more respect for the tournament as the Premier League and Europe’s other major leagues don’t or can’t change their schedules, and it says so much about how badly players want to win it when Mane puts it above his Champions League win with Liverpool.

“I won the Champions League and some other trophies but this is the special one for me. This is more important for me,” he said.

It was his Liverpool teammate Mo Salah that we saw with the opposite emotions after the game, but Mane was grinning after redeeming himself with the winning penalty after the missed one in normal time. The goal gave Senegal their first trophy. Mane was the poster boy for the win but Édouard Mendy deserves all of his praise too.

He made a crucial save in the shootout, and now has another accolade to his collection after an amazing 12 months that saw him win the Champions League medal and some individual awards.

He and Mane deserve some rest and celebration before they return to club action but their managers will be wanting them back in the squads as soon as possible to continue their winning streaks.

In December Tuchel said Mendy had lost a bit of confidence but that will no doubt be back now and we will hopefully see the shot-stopper back to his best at Chelsea.