Uruguay 1-1 Chile
Uruguay got their first point in their 2021 Copa America campaign as they held Chile to a 1-1 draw on Monday at the Arena Pantanal.
Chile threatened to come away with the valuable three points after taking the initial lead in the first half, but a big blunder in the second half gave Uruguay a helping hand.
Eduardo Vargas scored off of a beautiful passing sequence that gave his country the one-goal lead. However, his midfield partner in Arturo Vidal scored an own goal six minutes after the hour mark.
It was unfortunate for the Inter Milan midfielder since he has been playing well for La Roja, although they have booked their place in the quarterfinals since they hold the solo second spot in the Group A table.
This game didn’t disappoint since we were given numerous Copa America 2021 highlights to choose from. And today, we’ll take a look at them one by one.
Highlights of the game
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Chile since they have been mired by uncertainty heading into this matchup.
Several sources indicate that Arturo Vidal and his teammates broke COVID-19 protocols when they reportedly held a party at their team hotel by bringing in women.
These allegations have yet to be confirmed but it felt like the controversy was affecting their play since they started the match on the backseat.
Chile had a slight mishap on the defencive end to where Uruguay drew a save from Claudio Bravo in the second minute, but they managed to have two chances at goal after that.
Uruguay then answered back with a brilliant counterattack in the eighth minute as Edinson Cavani almost scored the first goal of the match but Claudio Bravo expertly saved his header.
Oscar Tabarez’s men threatened again at goal during the 10th minute when the Chileans were left scrambling, but Claudio Bravo thwarted their chance when he blocked Giorgian De Arrascaeta’s low shot after a nice pass from Luis Suarez.
La Roja slowly regained control after a bad start and they would finally draw first blood during the 26th minute when Eduardo Vargas left the Uruguayans in the dust and chipped a strong shot to the upper left corner past Fernando Muslera.
Eduardo Vargas almost doubled their lead three minutes later when Ben Brereton teed him up from the right flank. However, he couldn’t get a clean look since he was unable to gain control of the ball after a cross.
Uruguay grew desperate to even things up as they were unable to breach Chile’s defence late in the first half and early in the second half.
However, Uruguay’s relentless pursuit paid off as they finally found the back of the net at the 66th minute.
Matias Vecino nodded the ball low to a sliding Luis Suarez after a corner kick and the Atletico Madrid forward grappled with Arturo Vidal, whose foot inadvertently knocked the ball into the roof of the net.
La Celeste chased for the game-winner with chances from Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez late but they weren’t able to convert.
Key statistics
Uruguay came out of this game somewhat relieved since they were on a funk prior to this contest.
La Celeste have not scored in their last four international matches to which they didn’t win and they were in danger to continue such trend if it weren’t for Arturo Vidal’s foot.
After last weekend’s loss to Argentina, Oscar Tabarez’s side were the more aggressive team at goal since they had 16 total shots with four of them on target compared to Chile’s seven and one.
Meanwhile, Chile remain undefeated in the tournament with two draws and one win. Yesterday was their fourth 1-1 draw in their last five international games – including their opener against Argentina.
Eduardo Vargas has been outstanding for Chile and yesterday marked his 14th goal in the Copa America, making him the joint fifth-top goal scorer with only three goals behind the likes of Brazil’s Zizinho and Argentina’s Norberto Mendez – who have 17 apiece.
The 31-year-old forward now has 40 goals playing for La Roja, which is only six behind their all-time leading goal scorer Alexis Sanchez.
What’s next?
Uruguay are set to take on Bolivia at the Arena Pantanal while Chile face Paraguay at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia. Both matches are scheduled this Thursday evening.
Stay tuned as we’ll cover the preview of the Chile vs Paraguay match here at SBOTOP to get a clue on which result to watch out for as we take a look at the updated Copa America 2021 odds.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
