Chile vs. Argentina: Score, Reaction from 2018 World Cup Qualifying

Argentina powered to a 2-1 win over Chile in an intense match that catapulted the winners to a tie for third place in the 2018 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings on Thursday.

After 25 minutes of back-and-forth offense, the match featured gritty defence over the rest of the way, as both teams combined for just 20 shots.

Felipe Gutierrez broke the ice with a goal in the 11th minute, which gave Chile an early lead and momentum. But Argentina responded with a pair of goals in the 19th and 24th minutes by Angel Di Maria and Gabriel Mercado, respectively.

Lionel Messi positioned Mercado with a pass while being defended by a pair of Chilean players just outside the box. After receiving the pass, Mercado was able to put the ball past keeper Claudio Bravo, who valiantly dived in an attempt to make the stop.

Here is a look at the replay, courtesy of beIN Sports USA:

Messi wasn’t credited with an assist, but his play was critical to the goal. 

As impressive as Mercado’s goal was, Di Maria arguably had the highlight of the night on a perfect shot that he barreled into the far post.

Here is a look at the equaliser, per beIN Sports USA:

Chile were limited without midfielder Arturo Vidal, and Argentina were without defenceman Javier Mascherano. Chile also lost Matias Fernandez just seven minutes into the game. 

Argentina were able to overcome Mascherano's absence thanks to a poor performance by the Chilean offense, which couldn’t score more than once despite retaining possession for 55 percent of the game. 

Under new coach Juan Antonio Pizzi, who replaced Jorge Sampaoli, the defending Copa America champions are in the middle of the pack in the CONMEBOL standings with seven points after five games.

Argentina, the runners-up in the 2014 World Cup, had scored only two goals in their first four South American World Cup qualifying games before Thursday, which left them toward the bottom of the CONMEBOL standings after the first slate of games in November.

The Argentinians were off to a sluggish start in World Cup qualifying, as Thursday’s victory was only their second in five matches thus far.

But with a match on Tuesday against a struggling Bolivia team, Argentina could continue building on their momentum in the young qualifying season.