Alexis Sanchez Delivers to Help Chile Beat Argentina and Win Copa America
ESTADIO NACIONAL, SANTIAGO — You would never have guessed 99 years of history were weighing down on Alexis Sanchez's shoulders as he cheekily dinked the winning penalty past Sergio Romero.
La Roja's star man was ice cool, dispatching Chile's fourth spot-kick of the shootout into the net, putting his side 4-1 up, a winning margin, after 120 goalless minutes.
After playing poorly against both Uruguay and Peru in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, there were worries about how effective the Arsenal man was going to be in the final.
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He played 52 games in a long season with Arsenal and netted 25 goals. The last of these helped his team win the FA Cup, with Sanchez only enjoying a short rest before being whisked away to his homeland.
Attacking the group stage with panache, Sanchez scored one but inspired his team to put nine more past Ecuador, Mexico and Bolivia. His form dried up thereafter, and tiredness seemed to set in.
Against Uruguay, he wondered why he wasn't playing well, saying his team-mates questioned him about it too.
His efforts against Peru were even worse, although he did create the first goal with a low cross that hit the post.
Sanchez looked upset with himself after that game, a far cry from the mile-wide smile across his face as he celebrated his winning penalty in the final.
With five days to recover and rebuild, Sanchez came into the final looking fresh and was a thorn in Argentina's side from the word go.
He nearly made the difference twice, once after turning to strike a volley wide of Sergio Romero's left post—a perfect connection but fractionally off target.
The second time was in extra time when he barged past former Barcelona team-mate Javier Mascherano, blasting into the area but sending a searing strike narrowly over the crossbar.
He was the best player on the pitch, even if Arturo Vidal later received the Man of the Match award. Luckily, Alexis had one more chance to achieve glory.
Terrible misses by Gonzalo Higuain and Ever Banega saw Chile 3-1 up after three kicks each. When Alexis stepped up, he made no mistake.
Estadio Nacional exploded, flares lit on both sides, and the whole Chilean squad ran to one corner of the pitch to celebrate. Argentina were broken; La Roja were triumphant.
Claudio Bravo lifted the Copa America trophy, as captain, but in the hearts and minds of the public, it will be the forward who is most associated with this victory.
When the smoke from the huge firework display above the stadium clears, it will be Alexis' name written in the stars for all to see.
At Barcelona, he was always in Lionel Messi's shadow, as many players are by virtue of the Argentine's greatness, but for one evening in Santiago, Sanchez outshone his former team-mate.
Chile will never forget this—the first time they have won the Copa America—and likewise, they will never forget how they won it and who scored the winning penalty.
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