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Lionel Messi scored a stunning free-kick but Argentina had to share the spoils with Chile as they were held to a 1-1 draw in their opening match of Copa America 2021.
Despite Lionel Messi's heroics, Argentina had to settle for a point after Arturo Vidal's saved penalty fell into the path of the onrushing Eduardo Vargas who made no mistake in putting the ball into the back of the net.
Argentina were the more dominant side in the game and created plenty of chances. However, the Albiceleste were not clinical at all and had to pay for not making the most of their chances.
Speaking after the match, Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez said:
"We had six or seven clear chances and we missed them, and Chile got a good draw. The chances we made today were enough to win by 4- or 5-1."
Argentina captain Lionel Messi lamented his side's inability to get all 3 points. Speaking to reporters after the match, Lionel Messi said:
"This match got complicated to us. We needed to be calm, have the control of the possession and play more quickly. The penalty changed the match too.
"We wanted to start winning; it was important to start out with a victory. We played a difficult opponent. Uruguay will also be complicated. Two hard matches to start this Copa America."
In an entertaining game which ebbed and flowed, Lionel Messi, as expected, had a major say when he curled in a beautiful free-kick to give Argentina the lead in the 33rd minute. In the second half though, Chile came roaring back and Eduardo Vargas was in the right place at the right time to tuck in Aruto Vidal's saved penalty.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni made some bold calls to his starting line-up, leaving the likes of Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero on the bench while Chile, who had Alexis Sanchez missing through injury, relied on their combative midfield to counter Argentina's creativity.
Speaking after the game, Chile star Arturo Vidal was pretty pleased at getting a draw against Lionel Messi's Argentina:
"Leo always makes you change your formation. Thank God we managed to secure a draw. "We are still recovering our intensity, changing the system a little. It was a tough match; we tried to keep the order."
Without further ado, let us take a look at the:
Best Tweets from Argentina 1-1 Chile
The game rightly started off with an incredible homage to Diego Maradona
Lionel Messi's glorious free-kick in full view:
Lionel Messi had another great game for Argentina
Also read: Paul Merson's 5 surprise contenders for the Euro Player of the Tournament award
