Hear
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (special envoy).- A breath of air when there were symptoms of suffocation. A precise whiplash at the moment when the disorder had gained ground. For something, Argentina has hierarchy in all positions, talent ready when needed. There was no case in a match in which everything seemed given to win without problems, but in which the options were beginning to evaporate. With a Messi at half machineaffected from the beginning of the match, the team found the gap at the end to beat a Chile that was always comfortable with sleeping through the match and that in the final stretch believed it could go against logic. Lautaro Martínez resolved the puzzle as it should be: the scorer takes advantage of what is presented to him. 1-0 triumph, qualification for the quarterfinals and the aspiration of finishing at the top of Group A, if on Saturday, in Miami, they achieve at least a draw against Peru.
Scaloni always has some detail to surprise. In this case, without a natural central midfielder, he opted for Alexis Mac Allister in the place that Klopp found for him in Liverpool; Enzo Fernández was located in his natural habitat, that of the inside midfielder who can access risk areas. In this way, Argentina surrendered to the game of total possession, where he feels most comfortable, with performers who can do it. By Paul-Mac Allister-Enzo They allow him to rest with the ball and wait for the right moment to hurt. However, in the first half he abused centralized play and lost the ability to surprise by almost not using the sides, with Molina or Nico González. There were very few occasions when he attacked from the outside, and he almost managed to open the scoring. With a center behind each of those mentioned: Molina’s was cleared by a Chilean; Nico’s found a soft finish from Julián that Bravo conjured.
The team suffered, especially in the first 35 minutes, from a Messi paralyzed by discomfort in his right thigh. The captain immediately showed his annoyance and was left out of the game for a long time – he even had to go to the masseuse, in moments of great uncertainty -, perhaps processing what could be something that would prevent him from continuing. The usual Messi appeared at the end of the first chapter. First, with a left-footed shot from afar that caressed Bravo’s left post; then, with a stacked one in which he seemed touched in his pride. The 10th raised the public, but no more than that. Argentina missed the activity of its best man.
There were, in that period, several attempts at shots from outside: De Paul, Enzo, Julián – a machine to run rivals and create discomfort in the Chilean start -, Mac Allister. But aim was not an attribute of the Argentines.
Chile played with the calculator in hand (a draw served to define head-to-head with Canada), something that was noticed in each goal kick by Bravo, who always took his extra seconds. Ricardo Gareca’s team waited in their field, retreating, betting on a quick exit with Alexis – today, the team’s football boss – or on changes to their two full-backs, always ready to attack. But he was absolutely harmless. Dibu Martínez was absolutely the preferred witness of the Argentine monologue. Merit also of the two Argentine central defenders, impassable from above and below, censors of any intention of danger on the part of Chileans. Cuti and Lisandro are becoming a duo that is difficult to find in another team: technique, timing, character, driving, vertical passing. If nothing strange happens, there will be plants for many years.
But the lack of rhythm of development was also influenced by the parsimony of the trans-Andeans, who when they got the ball, lateralized almost to put a sleeping pill on the development. They were betting on a distraction behind Molina’s back, above all, but the Atlético de Madrid player was very attentive.
In the second half (Messi appeared and there was a reaction of relief in the public), Argentina remembered to play on the sides (González began to score diagonals) and upset Chile. From the start, the best collective action until then, a series of passes found Julián, Messi drove and Molina arrived without a mark and his shot burned Bravo’s hands.
At 11 minutes, Messi transformed a frontal free kick into a magical assist to Mac Allister, who almost in the small area could not make an impact to define. And then, Nico González burst the crossbar with a very strong finish. Fiorentina’s player is different from the rest: he does not need the associated game, he can create a dangerous action on his own. Many times questioned by his decision making, unpredictability is his main capital.
Enzo Fernández faded away and Scaloni and his collaborators read that decline perfectly: they sent Gio Lo Celso, a good partner of Messi in his time of splendor in the national team, to the field. And the partnership appeared immediately: the Tottenham player received almost between the center backs and placed it to Messi with a long pass that the number 10 defined from above. It was offside, finally, but a warning that the talent link is in force.
Di María and Lautaro entered to refresh the attackinstead of Nico González who had found situations and Julián who had faded from so much wear and tear. But this coincided with the minutes of Argentine confusion. Not only because of unforced errors by the midfielders, but because of a general relaxation that emboldened the rival.
Chile, waiting for a mistake, found one: Cuti missed a pass with the team badly stopped, Gareca’s team went deep and a clearance found Echeverría’s shot; There was a detour and Dibu was pure reflex to divert it. The Argentine goalkeeper, in the first Chilean arrival in 70 minutes, responded tremendously. The call for attention was repeated, almost a carbon copy: Isla overflowed and his center could not be cleared by Molina. The ball remained alive in the area and Echeverría – again Huracán’s central midfielder – shot Dibu. The archer began to have the action that he had not experienced before: another magnificent cover to save Argentina.
Until the hierarchy took over. There were two corners without interruption. In the first, Messi almost scored an Olympic goal. In the second, the ball fell like a bomb between Cuti and Lisandro, whose shot was cleared off the line; The rebound fell to Lautaro and the Inter player renewed his goal-scoring appetite: a shot in and in. In the end, a Messi-Di María-Lautaro connection counter was missed by centimeters thanks to Bravo’s effort and the scorer’s lackadaisical definition.
In this Copa América, Argentina shapes an aura of mystique. They were two different games, but they got complicated in one way or another. Tonight at MetLife, when everything was a monologue that lacked definition, when shadows fell and the gigantic figure of Draw had to appear, a patina emerged that this team has well earned. As in boxing, the champion must be knocked out; at the slightest carelessness the challenger falls to the canvas. In a strange context, with the great captain decimated, the voracious scorer Lautaro appeared to do honour to this status of the selection: there is mystique, gentlemen!
