Mexico vs. Argentina: Winners and Losers from International Friendly
Argentina produced a dramatic late fightback to rescue a 2-2 draw against Mexico on Tuesday.
Goals from substitute Sergio Aguero and captain Lionel Messi saw Argentina rally from a two-goal deficit at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mexico—who next face the United States on October 10 to decide which nation will represent CONCACAF in the 2017 Confederations Cup—looked set to clinch a famous victory.
Javier Hernandez broke the deadlock by converting a penalty in the first half, giving El Tri a slender lead at the interval.
They doubled their advantage in the 70th minute when Hector Herrera fired a shot under Argentina goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman.
However, Aguero tapped home a cross from fellow replacement Ezequiel Lavezzi before the scorer turned provider for the equaliser, his delightful ball over the top allowing Messi to level matters.
B/R breaks down the winners and losers from a thrilling friendly played out on American soil.
Winner: Moises Munoz
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Despite conceding two late goals, one of which he was at fault for, Mexico goalkeeper Moises Munoz deserves plenty of praise for his performance.
The 35-year-old made a series of saves over the course of the 90 minutes. With five minutes to go, it seemed his efforts would help clinch victory.
However, Munoz blotted his copybook when he came off his line to try and mop up a loose ball. But in his determination to get there, he misjudged its speed, palming it away instead of catching cleanly.
Ezequiel Lavezzi seized on the error, getting to the ball before it went dead and rolling it across the area for team-mate Sergio Aguero to convert.
Loser: Nicolas Otamendi
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Nicolas Otamendi signed for Manchester City during the summer transfer window after an excellent season with Valencia in Spain.
Bleacher Report's very own Rob Pollard made a strong case for why Otamendi could become the next star defender in the Premier League.
However, Manchester City fans will not have been convinced about the Argentina international's abilities if they watched his performance against Mexico.
He was guilty of giving away the penalty that allowed El Tri to take the lead, and he had already been fortunate before then when the referee failed to spot his push in the back of Javier Hernandez.
FootballFacts101 was certainly not impressed, judging by the following tweet, "Otamendi having a terrible game so far...only reason he's still on the pitch is because this is a friendly."
Winner: Sergio Aguero
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Sergio Aguero didn't enter the game until the 76th minute. As it turned out, though, he still had enough time to make a major impact.
The Manchester City forward was on hand to tap home his country's first goal, then produced a well-weighted pass over the defence to set up Lionel Messi's equaliser.
According to Roy Nemer on Twitter, Aguero's contribution made sure he kept an impressive record intact: "Sergio Aguero has now scored in 27 different matches for Argentina. When he has scored, Argentina has never lost a match."
Losers: Argentina's Starting Forwards
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Argentina needed help from the bench to stave off the threat of defeat, mainly as a result of the starting forwards' profligacy in front of goal.
Per ESPN FC, Angel Correa, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez combined to have a total of 15 shots in the game, 10 of which were on target.
Yet despite the large number of opportunities, only Messi found the back of the net—and even then it came in the final minute of normal time.
Correa had a number of opportunities to add to his goal on Albiceleste debut against Bolivia last time out, only to find Mexico goalkeeper Moises Munoz a tough obstacle to beat.
Winner: Mexico's Confederations Cup Chances
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Mexico will be disappointed to have let such a comfortable advantage slip from their grasp in the closing minutes.
However, conceding two late goals to a side with Argentina's firepower should not take away from their performance for the majority of the contest.
Their attempts to hang onto the lead were not helped by the loss of captain Rafael Marquez through injury—the experienced defender was hurt trying to prevent Sergio Aguero from scoring to make it 2-1.
El Tri should still have gained some confidence ahead of their forthcoming 2017 Confederations Cup playoff against the United States.
The same cannot be said for their opponents in that fixture, who were thrashed 4-1 at home by Brazil on Tuesday.
As Liviu Bird wrote for Sports Illustrated:
"One team played No. 1-ranked Argentina straight up, taking the game to La Albiceleste and nearly defeating it with exciting, attacking soccer. The other timidly lost by three goals to No. 5 Brazil, leaving its manager under pressure and creating more questions than answers with its performance.
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Mexico face United States at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on October 10.
Loser: The Pitch at the AT&T Stadium
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When Argentina are playing, Lionel Messi tends to be the major talking point on social media.
However, even the four-time Ballon d'Or winner was overshadowed on Twitter by the standard of the surface at the AT&T Stadium.
Whether it was the fact loose grass was placed on top of turf, the colour of the field or the concern for players' safety, the pitch was the centre of attention.
ESPN's Soccer Today described the playing area as "green in some spots." Dallas Cowboys writer Rafael Vela, meanwhile, tweeted, "That thing they call a pitch at AT&T Stadium is the worst surface I've ever seen."
It was not good. And worryingly, there was a moment when Messi lost his footing and twisted awkwardly. You can take a look at the slip courtesy of the Vine posted on Twitter by Louie T.
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