Angel Di Maria scored a 51st minute goal off a pass from Ever Banega then later assisted on Banega’s goal as Argentina revenged against Chile by beating them 2-1 in the Copa América Group D match at Santa Clara.
In a match where Messi was missing due to injury, Argentina controlled proceedings and came within a whisker of taking a second minute lead as Nicolas Gaitan who replaced Messi clipped the top of the crossbar after latching on to an inch perfect cross from Di Maria.
It was not until the second half that the 14 time champions made their dominance count, with Di Maria opening the scoring as Banega struck eight minutes later.
Jose Pedro Fuenzalida headed in a late consolation, but Chile slumped to a fifth defeat in six matches.
In another Group D match Blas Perez scored a brace to help Panama beat Bolivia with Bolivia’s consolation scored by Juan Carlos.
Meanwhile it was another embarrassing moment for the Copa America after title holders anthem was wrongly played instead of Uruguays before Mexico ‘s 3-1 win victory in Arizona on Saturday.
