PHOTO TAKEN from ca2015.com
Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas gave Chile a dream start to Copa América 2015 with second-half goals which secured a 2-0 victory over Ecuador in the opening match of the tournament.
Juventus midfielder Vidal, who suffered Champions League final heartache at the hands of Barcelona at the weekend, stepped up to fire beyond Alexander Domínguez in the 67th minute of their Group A clash at Estadio Nacional in Santiago.
Vidal earned the penalty himself, tumbling to the ground as Miller Bolaños put his hand across his opponent’s chest, with Argentine referee Nestor Pitana immediately pointing to the spot.
West Ham forward Enner Valencia was inches away from levelling going into the closing stages, only to see his effort come back off the cross bar with Claudio Bravo stranded.
And Chile made sure of victory as they search for their first-ever Copa America success, with Alexis Sánchez playing in substitute Eduardo Vargas to calmly finish in the 84th minute.
The night ended on a slightly sour note, with substitute Matías Fernández earning a second yellow card in added time, which means he will be suspended for their clash with Mexico.
Jorge Sampaoli made three changes to the team that beat El Salvador 1-0 in their final warm-up, with captain Claudio Bravo, Vidal and Eugenio Mena drafted into the line-up at the expense of Johnny Herrera, Felipe Gutierrez and Vargas.
Ecuador were unchanged, with Gustavo Quinteros opting to stick with the same XI that routed Panama 4-0 in a friendly last week.
Chile were by far the superior team in the first half, but had nothing to show for their efforts.
The host nation dominated from the outset and Alexis – a constant threat – came close to breaking the deadlock twice early on but his first shot was inches wide before an attempted chip failed to deceive onrushing goalkeeper Dominguez.
Bravo was forced into a save by Fidel Martinez not long after, when Jorge Valdivia played Chile into trouble with a short free-kick just outside the penalty area.
Chile continued to dictate proceedings, however, with Vidal the architect in the middle of the pitch, but try as they might there was no goal before the break, despite opportunities falling to Alexis and Mauricio Isla.
It was a similar story in the second half, Alexis leading the charge up front, though it yielded no reward for Chile.
In a rare foray in the attacking third, Ecuador came close to opening the scoring after 53 minutes but Valencia was unable to direct his shot on target.
Ecuador’s defence was finally breached just after the hour mark, albeit from the penalty spot.
Bolaños brought down Vidal with an arm across his chest and the Juventus midfielder made no mistake, firing the ball into the top corner of the net.
Ecuador were unlucky not to snatch a point after Valencia’s header cannoned off the crossbar with nine minutes remaining.
And Chile went up the other end and sealed the points two minutes later, when Vargas curled the ball underneath Dominguez, having been played in by Alexis.
Source: COPA America 2015