A thick chain error of the defense of Paraguayan in added time and the brilliance and rascality of Alexis Sanchez gave today the first victory of the ‘it was Berizzo‘ for Chili versus Paraguayan (3-2) and they probably saved the head of the Argentine coach, who was in question during the friendly.
Barros Scheloto’s men were better but they couldn’t stop the momentum of the ‘wonder boy’, who came off the bench in the second half, revolutionized the game and showed that he is going through a state of grace that makes him fall in love with goals.
The match began, however, with the stands inflamed but with the Paraguayans better positioned on the field, especially in the center of the field, where Villasanto, Cubas, Gómez and Rojas far surpassed the rival’s crowded midfield.
Neither Arturo Vidal, nor Felipe Méndez, nor Marcelino Nuñez, and of course, a Gary Medel turned into a ghost, managed to build against a livelier rival line, with the strongest leg in the clash and better in anticipation.
Only the good work of Guillermo Maripán, who grows as a decisive player at the pace of a colossus, and the lack of aim of Julio Enciso and Gabriel Avalos, who could not find the goal as the end of their good plays, kept the zero. Neither the Brigthon striker nor his colleague from Argentinos Juniors, today substitutes against the loss of the starting couple, were successful against a Claudio Bravo with a lot of work.
However, in those things that football has, it was ‘La Roja’ who took the lead thanks to a set piece action executed with care by Marcelino Núñez and combed by Paulo Díaz, combing the net of an Antony Silva almost unprecedented until the moment. Until then, the Puebla goalkeeper had only had to respond to a hard shot from Ben Brereton, the best Chilean in the first 45 minutes.
The goal was nothing more than a mirage that changed the trend of the match: Paraguay continued with their plan and ten minutes later Avalos took advantage of a gift from Díaz himself to enter the left wing and put a ball behind that Rojas brought to the net in the rebound after Bravo took the first shot from him.
Barely two minutes later, with no time to lick his wounds, with an indignant Berizzo on the wing, a penetration from the left left a free ball in the area for Avalos to complete the comeback. In added time, Guillermo Maripán, however, was able to rebalance the balance, again from set pieces, after a cut, but Silva was sure.
Arturo Vidal celebrates the triumph of Chile by giving a boot to the fans
The second half began with a different dynamic. Berizzo heard the unanimous cry of the stands during the first half and introduced the acclaimed Alexis Sánchez onto the field for a Diego Rubio who surprised as a starter but made little contribution, much abandoned. In addition, five minutes later he was forced to put Alexander Aravena, the young hope of Universidad de Católica, on the grass due to Ben Brereton’s physical problems, which contributed to shake up the game.
The combination of experience and new blood to which Berizzo appeals, who has few wickers, gave Chile a few minutes of vigor, which played the best minutes. In the 56th minute, a phenomenal filtered pass from Gabriel Suazo to Alexis Sánchez put an equalizer but the wonder boy’s shot went to the post. And two minutes later, another good play by the Olimpyque de Marseille player ended up at Aravena’s feet, but his shot ran into the defenses.
In 1960 it was Guillermo Soto who shook off his debut nerves and invented a penetration with a dribble and a cross shot that licked the crossbar. Until in minute 74, when Chile had run out of steam, the tie came. Medel gave away one more ball in defense that Richard Sánchez did not know how to take advantage of and in the next play, Alexis Sánchez took advantage of a jumbled play in the area to equalize.
From there until the end the game was muddy with the expulsions. Paraguay was able to win with a long-distance shot from Cubas to which Bravo responded with a great save and Aravena the victory for his team with a great shot in the 19th minute that Silva took with equal solvency.
But the night was for Alexis Sánchez, who, with time almost up, invented a tricky goal. With Paraguay’s defense trying to get into position, he quickly took an Olympic corner that also surprised a clueless Silva to certify Berizzo’s first victory and guarantee his continuity.
DATA SHEET
3 – Chile: Claudio Bravo; Guillermo Soto (Juan Delgado, min 63), Paulo Díaz, Guillermo Maripán, Gabriel Suazo; Gary Medel, Arturo Vidal, Marcelino Nuñez (Diego Valdés, min 63), Felipe Méndez (Matías Catalán); Ben Brereton (Alexander Aravena, min 49) and Diego Rubio (Alexis Sánchez, min 46)
2 – Paraguay: Anthony Silva; Robert Rojas, Fabian Balbuena, Gustavo Gomez, Junior Alonso; Mathias Villasanti, Andres Cubas, Diego Gómez (Richard Sánchez, min 63); Matías Rojas (Ramón Sosa), Julio Enciso (Jesús Medina, min 77) and Gabriel Avalos (Robert Morales, min 77)
Referee: Sousa (Brazil). He admonished Avalos (min 8), Matías Rojas (min. 26), Antony Silva (min 59), Diego Gomez (min 70) and Gustavo Gómez (min 96) for Paraguay now. He sent off Paulo Díaz and Ramón Sosa for a Tanzania (min 80) and Paraguay’s second coach Gustavo Barros Schelotto (min 84) for protesting
Goals: 1-0 Paulo Diaz (min 20); 1-1 Matías Rojas (min 30); 1-2 Avalos (min 32); 2-2 Alexis Sánchez (min 74); 3-2 Alexis Sánchez (min 94)
Spectators: Full in the Monumental
read also
