Argentina vs. Algeria: Score and Reaction from 2016 Olympic Men's Soccer

Argentina secured a vital 2-1 win over Algeria in their second group-stage game in the 2016 Olympic men's football tournament at the Estadio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

After a lacklustre first-half showing in which Argentina were reduced to 10 men, the Albiceleste burst into life after the interval as Atletico Madrid's Angel Correa found the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box following the restart.

Algeria pulled level following a smart move and finish from Sofiane Bendebka, but their numerical superiority and scoreline parity would not remain for long after Ayoub Abdellaoui was booked for a second time, with Jonathan Calleri making the North Africans pay.

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Argentina arrived in the contest desperate to secure three points after losing 2-0 to Portugal in their opening match of the tournament. Manager Rui Jorge's side topped the table in Group D following their 2-1 win over Honduras earlier on Sunday.

The South Americans started as the brighter of the two sides, with Mauricio Martinez offering a strike on goal from outside the area that grazed the outside of the upright. 

Correa was the next to test Algeria stopper Farid Chaal, as his curled effort from the cusp of the area stung the goalkeeper's palms with 31 minutes on the clock. 

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However, the Fennec Foxes were to have the best chance of the opening period. A long ball forward found Baghdad Bounedjah unmarked as he went one-on-one with Geronimo Rulli.

But the Real Sociedad No. 1 was able to prevent his chip from landing in the back of the net after swatting away the danger from the edge of his area. 

Argentinian football writer Peter Coates noted the action as it unfolded:

It was a first 45 minutes of few chances of note for either side. Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe took time to marvel at player aesthetics:

However, in the dying embers of the first half, Argentina's hopes of taking anything away from the fixture took a blow after they lost centre-back Victor Cuesta to a red card following two bookable offences. 

However, the Under-23s returned invigorated for the next passage of play, and it did not take long for manager Julio Olarticoechea's men to take the lead despite being reduced to 10 men. 

A huge pump upfield by Rulli was partially flicked on by West Ham's new summer signing Calleri. The ball fell free and left Correa with the unenviable task of finding a way past Chaal. However, the former San Lorenzo winger struck a fine shot across goal, which nestled neatly in the far corner. 

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Their lead would last for just eight minutes, however, as Bendebka netted a crucial equaliser against the flow of the contest. The centre-forward nipped between the Argentinians' back line and collected a perfectly weighted pass from Bounedjah before setting himself up with one touch and slipping the ball under Rulli.

South American football expert Tim Vickery felt the future didn't seem bright for Argentina fans favouring defensive discipline:

Meanwhile Mundo Albicelest owner Roy Nemer had some high praise for the young Argentinian stopper:

However, Argentina were handed a lifeline when Abdellaoui was shown his second yellow card of the match for a display of indiscipline, kicking the ball into the air in frustration at the referee's decision to call a foul against him.

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Argentina used the numerical equality to their advantage and scrambled a foothold back into the tournament after Calleri stumbled the ball over the line following some fine buildup play between Giovani Lo Celso and Correa.

Football writer Daniel Edwards was impressed by the Atletico attacker's performance:

The narrow victory keeps the South Americans in with a chance of progressing to the next stage of the competition after drawing level on points with Honduras in third position.

Olarticoechea's side will take on their Central American opponents on Wednesday at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia, with the winner likely to join Portugal in the next round.