Egypt suffered more Africa Cup of Nations shoot-out heartache as goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi scored the winning penalty to send DR Congo through to the quarter-finals.
All four of the Pharaohs’ knockout games in the 2021 tournament required additional time, culminating in a spot-kick defeat to Senegal in the final.
And, after a 1-1 draw following extra-time, they went the same way in San Pedro with an 8-7 loss on penalties.
Mostafa Mohamed continued to step up in the absence of the injured Mohamed Salah with his fourth goal in as many matches from the spot, cancelling out Meschack Elia’s opener, with Egypt hanging on in extra time following Mohamed Hamdy’s 97th-minute red card.
Mohamed missed from 12 yards the second time around and keeper Mohamed Abou Gabal also fluffed his lines, leaving opposite number Mpasi to hold his nerve and set up a last-eight clash with Guinea.
Elia was a threat from the off and wasted a promising opportunity inside two minutes, racing behind Egypt’s high defensive line before firing over.
Egypt soon settled and former West Brom defender Ahmed Hegazi should have done better when heading over Marwan Attia’s cross unmarked from six yards in the eighth minute.
Rui Vitoria’s side dominated possession without creating any more chances and they were punished in the 37th minute.
The warning signs were there as Theo Bongonda failed to keep a shot down from 15 yards and an excellent sliding challenge from Hamdi Fathi prevented Elia from firing at goal after Brentford striker Yoane Wissa picked out the Young Boys forward with a fine pass.
Elia would not be denied soon after, heading in on the goal line after Wissa’s cross was deflected beyond Abou Gabal as Egypt switched off from former West Ham left-back Arthur Masuaku’s throw-in.
But the Leopards were only ahead for eight minutes as VAR intervened to award a penalty for Dylan Batubinsika’s elbow on Hegazi, with Mohamed firing the spot-kick into the top corner.
Elia almost turned provider seven minutes after half-time, finding space on the right and providing a cross that Cedric Bakambu stabbed into the side-netting.
DR Congo defender Chancel Mbemba headed over from a corner before Egypt finally found their spark again with Ahmed Sayed Zizo and Attia forcing Mpasi into saves.
They looked more likely to find a winner, but could not create anything of note late on and were then put on the backfoot by Hamdy’s sending-off for two yellow cards, the second for a lunging tackle.
Masuaku blazed a free-kick over the bar and Samuel Moutoussamy fired wide from distance ahead of a dramatic shoot-out that ended with both goalkeepers stepping up.
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
