Argentina bag late winner to see off Chile and secure Copa América progression
Curiously, Chile had more of their starting XI currently playing in Argentina (three) than the Albiceleste had (zero), and their manager, Argentinian Ricardo Gareca, will have been pleased with the way that his side largely stayed compact from the outset.
Indeed, it took until the 22nd minute for there to be a shot on target, but Julian Alvarez, who got the opener for Argentina in their 2-0 win over Canada last Thursday to kick off the tournament, saw his scuffed effort gathered in by 41-year-old Claudio Bravo, who was earning his 150th cap.
Things started to get a bit more niggly as the game approached the half-hour mark when the industrious Gabriel Suazo clattered into Lionel Messi, before a few minutes later, Rodrigo De Paul accidentally trod on Suazo’s right shin.
Not long afterwards, Erick Pulgar’s aimless punt skywards almost presented Nicolas González with a glorious opportunity, but fortunately for the Chilean, the high bounce of the ball caused the Argentine winger to hesitate, allowing Bravo to collect his tame header.
And as the contest neared half-time, Messi - making his first appearance since turning 37 - started to show what he’s all about, striking Bravo’s left-hand post from 30 yards.
Immediately after the break, Bravo’s goal came under more pressure, as he was forced to paw away Nahuel Molina’s shot before punching away the resulting corner.
Alexis Mac Allister then just failed to make clean contact with Messi’s gorgeously dinked free-kick, before captain Bravo excellently pushed Gonzalez’s effort onto the crossbar.
With around 20 minutes left however, Emiliano Martinez was called into action twice in quick succession having been completely unstretched, with the Aston Villa stopper underlining why he won the Yashin Trophy last year by twice reacting sharply to deny Rodrigo Echeverría.
Angel Di María and Lautaro Martinez were among those subsequently thrown on for Argentina, and it was the latter who made the difference on 88 minutes, finishing coolly from close range after substitute Giovani Lo Celso had been thwarted by Bravo.
A VAR check for offside upheld the original decision, meaning that the reigning world champions are now through to the knockout phase with a game to spare, while Chile must defeat Canada this weekend to avoid crashing out at the Copa América group stage for the first time since 2004.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gabriel Suazo (Chile)