Argentina Gets Pound Of Flesh From Chile, As Lionel Messi Seats On Bench

Argentina defeated Copa America defending champions Chile 2-1 in her opening game in the Copa America Centunario tournament going on in United States, to get her pound of flesh from their South American counterparts after losing to Chile in the final of the 2015 edition of the Copa America tournament. Argentine football wizard, Lionel Messi was seated as a spectator, even though he was officially listed as a substitutes, there was never any expectation that he would play, after the Barcelona forward had journeyed for about 41 hours withing the past week before reaching the United States.

Despite the absence of the Barcelona forward on the pitch, The Albiceleste still had plenty of attacking firepower in its lineup, as the likes of Angel Di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain and Ever Banega carried the attacking burden for Argentina and they certainly took the game to the reigning Copa America champions. Nicolas Gaitan played in place of Messi, but the lad did not try to replace Messi but rather played his own role as a player, but it was Di Maria and Banega who ultimately provided the cutting edge needed to win the match for Argentina. Di Maria took a pass from Banega in the 51st minute and slammed his shot past Claudio Bravo, though the Chilean keeper should have done better, getting beaten to his near post was also to the fore and, with Di Maria formed a potent dual threat on the wings. After his goal, Di Maria held aloft a t-shirt with a message dedicated to his grandmother, who died hours earlier. The Argentina winger would later break down in tears in a post-match interview.