Chile vs. Peru: Winners and Losers from Copa America 2015 Semi-Final
The first semi-final of the 2015 Copa America was played out Monday night, with hosts Chile overcoming Peru by a 2-1 scoreline.
An aggressive opening saw Carlos Zambrano and Arturo Vidal involved in some pushing and shoving—and the former was sent off for Peru early on after his side looked the better team in the opening stages. Chile made their extra man count before the break as Edu Vargas scored from close range. Peru's ability to attack saw them equalise through a Gary Medel own goal, but Vargas smacked in a second from range soon after to win it for Chile.
Here are our biggest winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Edu Vargas
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Edu Vargas—yet another player who continues to do business for Chile at the international level while struggling to replicate that at the club level with consistency.
Right here, in the biggest of games, Vargas came up massively for Chile, scoring twice and making a huge volume of runs off the ball, behind the defence and down the channels to ensure his team continued to create chances and pull the Peru defence all over the place.
His first had a bit of luck about it, even though he reacted quickly, but his second goal was pure quality—vision, belief and technique to find the far top corner for a 2-1 lead.
Loser: Carlos Zambrano's Red Card
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Carlos Zambrano was sent off for a kick into the back of Charles Aranguiz in the first half, making contact with the Chile man after following through on a clearance.
Whether the red card was deserved or not split opinions on social media—but either way, there is little doubt that Zambrano was at fault for even giving the referee, just a yard or two away, a decision to make.
The officials had booked Zambrano only a few minutes earlier in the game, he was already involved in a few battles before that and he could have been considered to have made a deliberate attempt to contact Aranguiz in the incident. Even if a straight red was a harsh call by the referee, Zambrano was running a great risk of a yellow at least—which still would have seen him sent off.
Winner: Jorge Valdivia
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Once Chile had the extra man, they immediately started to get on the front foot. Much of that came from the movement and vision of Jorge Valdivia.
The attacker consistently found space just outside the box, turned to play in his offensive team-mates and created gaps to find shooting chances himself. He almost scored at 0-0 and was the big catalyst to Chile's improvement in the first half.
He received a massive ovation from the home supporters as he went off, subbed late on, and rightly so.
Loser: Chile's Lack of Defensive Domination
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Any number of times, Peru were able to get beyond Chile's wide defensive cover and attack to cross or cut infield, causing problems for the hosts with their aerial prowess.
Paolo Guerrero and, later, Claudio Pizarro both dominated the centre-backs in the air a number of times, and with a bit more luck or accuracy, at least one of those could have led to another Peru goal.
Chile's efforts were enough to keep out Peru in the end, but Lionel Messi and Co.—if Argentina make it—might be another matter.
Winner: Happy Hosts
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No matter the style or the method of reaching the final, Chile's own Copa America has to be seen as a success after they reached the final.
Aggression that borders on overexuberance at times can put off some, but the absolute, deliberate, full-on intent to win is every bit as important to their style of winning games as the quick interplay and fast-paced attackers running behind opposition defences are.
Whether it is Paraguay or Argentina, Chile will be going all out for a Copa America win Saturday on home soil—their first ever, if they manage it.
