Argentina 1-1 Chile, Messi’s picture perfect free kick not enough to seal all three points

Argentina drew 1-1 with Chile in their respective first matches in the 2021 Copa America, and both teams shared a point each. 

Lionel Messi scored yet another picture-perfect free kick, beating Claudio Bravo from a long way out with a left footed effort in the 33rd minute. In the second half, Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Arturo Vidal had the chance for his country. 

But, the midfielder had his penalty saved by Emiliano Martinez, who dived the right way, but the ball fell to Vidal and Eduardo Varegas, on the rebound and the latter knocked it past the keeper to score. 

Although Argentina numerically had lesser possession with 49%, they had the better chances and should’ve won the match if they were clinical enough. Nicolas Gonzalez had a great chance towards the end of the match, but was unable to beat the keeper from short range. 

Claudio Bravo had a busy night between the sticks as the Argentinian forwards forced him to make numerous saves to keep his team in the game. And the fact that Chile managed to come away with a point shows that he did indeed accomplish what he set out to do. Emiliano Martinez too put in a good shift, and his team were unfortunate to not come away with the win. 

Argentina face rivals Uruguay in a heated clash starting off the weekend, while Chile take on Bolivia in their second match in the Copa America at the same time.