Benin coach Gernot Rohr admitted the difficulties they faced playing against a 10-man Senegal in their final Africa Cup of Nation fixture.

The former African champions made a purposeful start and were rewarded in the 38th minute, when Abdoulaye Seckrose highest to power home a header from Krépin Diatta’s well-delivered set piece, giving Senegal a deserved lead at the interval.

Senegal doubled their advantage in the 62nd minute, with star forward Sadio Mané turning provider, slipping a neat pass into the area for Habib Diallo, who made no mistake with a composed left-footed finish from close range.

In the 97th minute, substitute Cherif Ndiaye calmly converted from the penalty spot after Ibrahim Mbaye was brought down in the area, sealing a comprehensive scoreline.

“This was a very difficult match against a highly experienced team like Senegal. Even though they were down to ten men it was difficult to break through their defence because they were compact,” he said.

“We also wanted to avoid a situation where we could get some cards that would have ruled out some of our players in the knock out stage and this made us a bit cautious.

“These are some of the mistakes we will correct before we play in the knockout stage and we will fight to go as far as possible in the competition.”