Nahuel Lanzillotta
06/14/2021 8:54 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 06/14/2021 8:54 PM
It got away from him again. The Argentine National Team ended the fight between the teeth again because in Rio de Janeiro they had a good start again, with football, situations and a goal advantage, but as happened in the previous commitments, they did not manage to sustain the victory and against the first own fault the rival evened the score. At the beginning of the path of group A in the Copa América, Lionel Scaloni's men drew 1-1 with Chile and continue to convince from time to time. Effectiveness, greater focus on the background and regularity in the dominant position continue to be the missing points for a team that knows that the time has come to demonstrate something else to take more steps forward.
This time, Claudio Bravo and his cartoon elasticity were not enough. This time there was no prior calculation, or spectacular flyby that could stop that magic spell that Messi launched in the form of a free kick from his left foot to the upper left corner of the Chilean goal. This time yes,
Leo
: great goal. After having converted the penalty in Santiago del Estero, Bravo had denied the Argentine 10 another cry for a stopped ball. The stick also got in the way in that Knockout duel, which was a draw. And in Barranquilla against Colombia it had been David Ospina who twice prevented him from showing off in the same way. In Brazil he was able to take advantage of a violation on Giovani Lo Celso on the edge of the area and retaliate.
"It is time to strike,"
Messi had said in the pre-premiere.
And at the presentation of the National Team at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium, the captain went from words to actions with that unique and unmatched left-foot strike to score his 73rd goal with his country's shirt, the tenth in America's Cups, in 145 matches.
A vigilante, the best in the world.
It is that the Argentine team had not been able until that moment to transform into shouts the concrete possibilities that it had been having thanks to the good collective performance and the lucidity of Lo Celso.
GOAL FROM ARGENTINA!
FREE THROW MESSI opens the scoring against Chile, in the debut of the Copa América 2021. @ Quilmes_Cerveza pic.twitter.com/Byd7JOOuH2
- TyC Sports (@TyCSports) June 14, 2021
Lionel's genius was the one that paved the way, but it must have been the icing on the cake for Argentina's positive game.
High pressure, fast recovery, connections in the middle, mobility and hand-to-hand arrivals.
A plan that went perfectly against a harassed Chile that only caught its rival badly once in the entire first half.
In 15 minutes, he had accumulated four chances, with an inspired and precise Lo Celso.
The Tottenham midfielder left his teammates face to face with the opposing goalkeeper every time he raised his head and released his right: he did it with Lautaro Martínez, who lost two goals from the front, and also with Nicolás González, who doubled to cover the rise of Mauricio Isla and was sent to attack when the attack was theirs.
Messi himself starred in the first shot - deflected - after a frontal shot from Leandro Paredes that Nicolás Tagliafico brought him down.
And González accumulated a couple more, right and head.
The blue and white prominence left those led by the Uruguayan Martín Lasarte tied up, who barely appeared with an attempted shot by Jean Meneses on a diagonal from the left sector.
There is a penalty for Chile!
Tagliafico lowered Vidal into the area and Roldán, with the VAR, decreed the maximum penalty.
pic.twitter.com/Ql7g4hSkbh
- TyC Sports (@TyCSports) June 14, 2021
The position of the trans-Andean people was not the same in the second part. And again Argentina paid too high a price for its mistakes. Lucas Martínez Quarta went far, Erick Pulgar put a great pass to the back of Otamendi and Emiliano Martínez covered a shot at point-blank range to Eduardo Vargas. The problem was in the rebound: Arturo Vidal, recovered from coronavirus, arrived before Nicolás Tagliafico and the Albiceleste side committed a penalty that was charged by Wilmar Roldán after the VAR call. Martínez excelled once again by stopping Vidal's shot, but Vargas took advantage of the rebound and tied for a header.
The Selection reacted and accelerated again in the last section;
however, he lacked clarity to define the plays.
A lit Messi, with a shot and a qualification, were not enough to unbalance the story again with a rival who has already caused headaches for a long time.
Another draw with a little flavor for the Scaloni team that continues to pursue that victory necessary to inflate confidence and step more firmly.
He will try on Friday against Uruguay in Brasilia.
GOAL FROM CHILE!
Vargas scores 1-1 against Argentina, for the # CopaAméricaEnTyCSports, after Emiliano Martínez covers a penalty against Arturo Vidal.
LIVE by TyC Sports and https://t.co/YPRi33sqkU pic.twitter.com/Ny1WJtfXta
- TyC Sports (@TyCSports) June 14, 2021
