While Arturo Vidal has been with the Chile team for just a matter of days after laying his body on the line in Juventus’ abortive attempt at Champions League glory, he is determined not to show any sign of weakness or fatigue. The midfielder may not have been at his dynamic best, but it was his penalty which unlocked a desperately tight Copa America curtain-raiser against Ecuador and supersub Eduardo Vargas did the rest to send the hosts through 2-0 in Santiago’s Estadio Nacional.
Unsurprisingly, Chile came out with all guns blazing in front of its own fans as the nation sought a positive start to its Group A campaign. Star forward Alexis Sánchez could have opened the scoring twice in the first seven minutes, but the Arsenal man failed to finish clean through with Ecuador’s Alexander Domínguez.
The hosts kept up the pressure, but Ecuador showed great resilience and looked to make its own danger on the counter. Winger Jefferson Montero in particular was lively for the Tricolor, which despite seeing little of the ball tried to match its rival across the pitch. Mauricio Isla then warned once again for the home side, playing a delightful one-two with Sánchez before pulling his shot just wide of Domínguez.
Chile was on top for most of the first half, dominating possession, but had to settle for a stalemate at the interval as neither team managed to break the deadlock. Coach Jorge Sampaoli was forced to shuffle his hand for the second period. Striker Eduardo Vargas was sent on to give more support to the isolated Sánchez. The Roja continued to push hard, but a lack of precision around the area meant that Ecuador stayed in touch as the minutes went on.
Just when Sampaoli’s men looked out of ideas in the final third and in danger of being overrun, referee Néstor Pitana sent the Estado Nacional into raptures. With 12 minutes of the second half played the Argentine official awarded the hosts a penalty when Juve star Vidal was pulled down, Miller Bolaños committing a clumsy rather than malicious challenge; and the midfielder brushed himself off to convert the kick with ease.
Chile moved to tighten things up with the goal, and while Ecuador probed in search of the equalizer a defence marshaled by Barcelona treble-winner Claudio Bravo between the posts kept the Tricolor at bay. The team also had a bit of help from the crossbar, which kept out Enner Valencia’s header to maintain the slim advantage up to full-time. Substitute Vargas then made the forward pay for missing the chance, as he latched on to Sánchez’s pass and slid the ball under Domínguez to take full advantage of a defensive mishap and put the game out of Ecuador’s reach.
Mexico and Bolivia complete the first round of Group A games today at 8.30pm, in Viña del Mar. The host’s next match comes on Monday against Mexico, while Ecuador faces off against Bolivia on the same evening.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald