Argentina won on Monday by 1-0 to Paraguay, in an intense duel, thanks to a solitary goal by Alejandro Gómez in the match valid for the third day of Group A of the Copa America that is played in Brazil.
In this way the Albiceleste remains leader of Group A with seven units, two ahead of its escort Chile -which drew 1-1 with Uruguay-, while Paraguay is third with three points, the ‘Celeste’ adds one and Bolivia closes without adding whole.
Those led by Lionel Scaloni, like the last match against Uruguay, had a start to pure pressure and achieved a territorial dominance that gave them three clear situations to convert in the first ten minutes.
First it was a shot from Alejandro Gómez and then a disintelligence between the two Paraguayan central defenders who left the ball to Sergio Agüero in the small area for the new barcelona player of Spain to take a floated shot that went over the crossbar of the goal defended by Antony Silva.
However, in the 10th minute a combination of Lionel Messi with Angel Di Maria ended with a pass between the lines from the PSG player for a subtle ‘punctured’ definition of Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez before Silva’s departure.
From that moment Paraguay seemed to wake up with the speed and deployment of Miguel Almirón as a flag to arrive with danger to the goal of Emiliano Martínez. At 17 a foul by José Gómez on Sergio Agüero left a dangerous free kick for the Albiceleste, who executed Lionel Messi with a shot that went close to the second Guarani stick.
Two balls to the area that demanded the departures of Emiliano Martínez to avoid the aerial power of those led by Eduardo Berizzo and a triple action for the Albirroja that always found an Argentine defender were the options to try to tie the scorer.
Averaging the second half, Di Maria after a combination sent a cross that ended with Junior Alonso pushing the ball over his own goal, but Venezuelan referee Jesus Valenzuela nullified the goal with VAR confirmation for a forward position from Lionel Messi in the previous action.
In the first minutes of the second half, Paraguay took ownership of the ball and by force of aerial centers brought danger to the Argentine area that had in Gabriel Ávalos the main reference in the search. In the 60th minute, Miguel Almirón generated a free kick on the left side of the Guaraní offense, but the execution was by Ángel Romero with a shot that contained ‘Dibu’ Martínez without giving rebound.
Just two minutes earlier, Lionel Scaloni had decided to put an end to the first match in the selection of the Barcelona pairing when he determined the departure of ‘Kun’ Agüero for the entry of Joaquín Correa. With possession of the ball and territorial dominance, Paraguay had a clear in the 76th minute after a foul by Cristian Romero on Avalos that left a free kick to Angel Romero who in his execution could not overcome the barrier.
In the 82st minute after a series of changes from both teams, Lionel Messi took a shot from mid-range that was safely resolved by Antony Silva. The last few minutes were with Paraguay looking to breach a close defense of Argentina that was protected to defend the advantage and end up winning again by the minimum to secure their place in the quarterfinals of this Copa America.
After this double win against Uruguay and Paraguay, Argentina will have a day of rest before their last appearance in this group stage against Bolivia next Monday, while Paraguay next Thursday will have a decisive crossing against Chile and then their last presentation in this stage will be against Uruguay.
Watch the match summary here
Video via Youtube America’s Cup
