Argentina Ride out Lionel Messi's Absence for Vital Win over Chile

No Lionel Messi, no problem? Hardly. But tenacious Argentina at least proved that when Leo cannot weave his magic, they still have the ability to grind out big results. 

The Albiceleste rode their luck early on Monday night, but, ultimately, a 2-1 win was more than deserved as they took some measure of revenge over Chile for the Copa America final defeat just under a year ago. In the absence of their captain and talisman, the likes of Angel Di Maria and Ever Banega stood up to be counted.

Messi's will-he, won't-he saga dominated headlines in the hours leading up to this Group D opener. The Barcelona star had suffered a back injury in the Albiceleste's sole friendly against Honduras last week, limping off the field as an entire nation held its breath. 

It is impossible to gauge how much the captain's subsequent trip to Spain to answer tax fraud charges, per AP (via Sky Sports) may have held back his recovery. Perhaps, with four or five days of uninterrupted recovery in the United States alongside his team-mates, he would have made the cut. 

But at this point that is pure conjecture. Coach Gerardo Martino made the decision to leave La Pulga on the bench for the first, and most daunting, fixture Argentina will face until the knockout phase.

And thanks to a sturdy team performance, the twin objectives of taking three points and ensuring Messi would not be risked were both fulfilled. 

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Without their star, an unfamiliar Albiceleste were on show. Martino puts great stock in reproducing the possession-based football most closely associated with Barcelona, but Santa Clara saw a side more reminiscent of Real Madrid take on Juan Antonio Pizzi's South American champions.

The three central midfielders stayed in close proximity to one another throughout the first half, rarely pushing forward. Gonzalo Higuain took on Karim Benzema's role of the No. 9 charged with drawing out the defence and Di Maria did his best to impersonate Cristiano Ronaldo, with mixed results.

The Argentinians played a high-octane game and tried to exploit the expanses of the Levi's Stadium, but the plan fell short amid poor execution and against a Chilean side determined not to give an inch to their fierce rivals. 

Indeed, La Roja went closest to opening the scoring in the first half. Manchester United's Sergio Romero proved why he has been so difficult to dislodge from the net despite a chronic lack of club football with a spectacular stop from Alexis Sanchez, which was the highlight of an almost-flawless performance from the goalkeeper. In the second half, though, Argentina finally found their flow. 

Both teams had benefited in the opening 45 minutes from slack distribution coming out of defence. But it was Di Maria who finally made the breakthrough, as the Paris Saint-German star expertly finished off Banega's pass to put Argentina in the ascendancy.

It was an emotional match for Di Maria, who learned of his grandmother's death just hours before kick-off, and his tears as he was interviewed at the final whistle added a poignant note to proceedings in California. 

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The game was put beyond a tepid Chile's reach a matter of minutes later. After Banega's precise assist to his fellow Rosario native, Di Maria returned the favour, and the Sevilla man's venomous effort took a touch off Mauricio Isla to bamboozle Claudio Bravo on its way to goal.

From there it was more or less straightforward for the Albiceleste, although Romero's sole error of the match in charging off his line let Jose Fuenzalida in to narrow the scoreline to 2-1 in the dying minutes. 

By the sound of things in the Levi's Stadium many of the neutrals in the stands had come with the express objective of watching Messi strut his stuff. Chants for the Barcelona star grew as the minutes ticked by, but Martino remained obstinate—and rightly so.

The coach's worst nightmare would have been to throw the half-fit superstar on at the end to chase an adverse result, but thanks to a professional team performance Messi and his budding beard remained safely ensconced on the bench. 

"We always pick 23 men, and we always hope they can all meet our expectations," Martino told reporters in the post-match conference with regards to the absences of Messi and fellow starter Lucas Biglia. The likes of Nicolas Gaitan and Augusto Fernandez may not have shined particularly brightly as late replacements, but they did what was necessary to make sure those stars were not missed too much. 

But the real stars of the show were tearful Di Maria and his partner in crime Banega, who, in the absence of Messi, provided the cutting edge Argentina desperately needed.

Three points are in the bag, and as their superstar continues to recover, the Albiceleste can already start thinking about the quarter-finals and beyond.

Follow Daniel on Twitter at @DanEdwardsGoal