Senegal’s Lion of Teranga showed they are reigning champions of the continent after recording a comfortable 3-0 win over 10-man Gambia in their opening game at the 2023 African Cup of Nations ( AFCON) on Monday.

In the Group C opener at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, Senegal went into the lead four minutes into play after Pape Gueye fired a clean pass from Sadio Mane inside the box.

The tournament’s first red card was recorded on the cusp of the first half after Ebou Adams was sent off for violent conduct, giving the Senegalese the chance to take over the game fully.

Nine minutes after the break, Senegal doubled their lead through Lamine Camara — he calmly slotted Ismaila Sarr’s assist into the bottom left corner of the net to double the advantage for the Lions.

In the 86th minute, Camara scored his brace of the game via a curler from outside the 18-yard box into a tight right corner to seal the win for Lion of Teranga in what would be a confident booster in their bid for a title defence.

As expected, the 20-year-old was named the Man of the Match after scoring a brace on his AFCON debut, helping his side to take an early lead in Group B standing.