Match ends, Argentina 2, Chile 1.
Argentina 2-1 Chile: Messi gets first red card in 14 years as Argentina win
- From the section Football
Lionel Messi was shown only the second red card of his career as Argentina beat Chile 2-1 in a hot-tempered Copa America third-place play-off.
The Barcelona forward had provided the assist for Sergio Aguero's opener before Paulo Dybala made it 2-0.
But Messi was shown a red following a clash with Gary Medel, which also saw the Chile player dismissed.
Arturo Vidal scored a second-half penalty but Argentina held off the fightback to secure third place.
However, the big talking point was undoubtedly the sendings off of Medel and Messi - who has never been sent off for Barcelona, and whose only other red card was on his international debut 14 years ago.
Tension had been building as the game wore on in a physical encounter with both sides often giving away niggly free-kicks.
Tempers spilled over eight minutes before half time when Messi appeared to nudge over Medel as they both challenged for the ball.
Medel responded by forcibly pushing his face into Messi's as the two players argued before the referee arrived and dismissed them both.
It seemed harsh on Messi, who in the replays of the incident did not appear to respond aggressively to Medel's action.
Chile had also lost Alexis Sanchez to injury early on. The Manchester United forward appeared to suffer a hamstring injury when chasing a long ball over the defence.
Brazil meet Peru in the Copa America final on Sunday (21:00 BST) and you can follow live text commentary of the game on the BBC Sport website.
Line-ups
Argentina
- 1Armani
- 2FoythBooked at 79mins
- 6PezzellaBooked at 57mins
- 17Otamendi
- 3TagliaficoBooked at 90mins
- 16de Paul
- 5ParedesBooked at 63mins
- 20Lo CelsoSubstituted forFunes Moriat 90'minutes
- 10MessiBooked at 37mins
- 21DybalaSubstituted forDi Maríaat 67'minutes
- 9AgüeroSubstituted forSuárezat 81'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Saravia
- 7Pereyra
- 11Di María
- 12Marchesín
- 13Funes Mori
- 14Casco
- 15Pizarro
- 18Rodríguez
- 19Suárez
- 23Musso
Chile
- 1Arias
- 17MedelBooked at 37mins
- 18JaraSubstituted forMaripánat 50'minutes
- 5Díaz
- 13PulgarBooked at 45mins
- 4Isla
- 20AránguizSubstituted forCastilloat 83'minutes
- 8VidalBooked at 26mins
- 15BeausejourBooked at 16mins
- 11Vargas
- 7SánchezSubstituted forFernandesat 17'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Lichnovsky
- 3Maripán
- 6Fuenzalida
- 9Castillo
- 10Valdés
- 12Cortés
- 14Pavez
- 16Hernández
- 19Fernandes
- 21Opazo
- 22Sagal
- 23Urra
- Referee:
- Mario Diaz de Vivar
- Attendance:
- 44,269
Match Stats
Home TeamArgentinaAway TeamChile
- Possession
- Home39%
- Away61%
- Shots
- Home15
- Away4
- Shots on Target
- Home6
- Away3
- Corners
- Home4
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home21
- Away18
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Argentina 2, Chile 1.
Arturo Vidal (Chile) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Matías Suárez (Argentina).
Foul by Arturo Vidal (Chile).
Leandro Paredes (Argentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Paulo Díaz (Chile) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Matías Suárez (Argentina).
Attempt missed. Arturo Vidal (Chile) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right following a set piece situation.
Booking
Nicolás Tagliafico (Argentina) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Mauricio Isla (Chile) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Nicolás Tagliafico (Argentina).
Offside, Chile. Guillermo Maripán tries a through ball, but Junior Fernandes is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Argentina. Ramiro Funes Mori replaces Giovani Lo Celso.
Arturo Vidal (Chile) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Giovani Lo Celso (Argentina).
Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Guillermo Maripán.
Foul by Erick Pulgar (Chile).
Rodrigo de Paul (Argentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Eduardo Vargas (Chile) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina).
Substitution
Substitution, Chile. Nicolás Castillo replaces Charles Aránguiz.
Substitution
Substitution, Argentina. Matías Suárez replaces Sergio Agüero.
Attempt missed. Sergio Agüero (Argentina) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Ángel Di María.
Booking
Juan Foyth (Argentina) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Junior Fernandes (Chile) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Juan Foyth (Argentina).
Foul by Junior Fernandes (Chile).
Giovani Lo Celso (Argentina) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Gabriel Arias (Chile) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sergio Agüero (Argentina).
Attempt saved. Sergio Agüero (Argentina) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ángel Di María.
Arturo Vidal (Chile) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Leandro Paredes (Argentina).
Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Erick Pulgar.
Attempt saved. Eduardo Vargas (Chile) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Charles Aránguiz with a through ball.
Foul by Mauricio Isla (Chile).
Nicolás Tagliafico (Argentina) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Arturo Vidal.
Attempt blocked. Leandro Paredes (Argentina) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
