Twitter reacts as Lionel Messi's Argentina are held to a 1-1 draw by Chile
Lionel Messi got on the scoresheet, but Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Chile in the FIFA World Cup qualifier played at Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in the city of Santiago del Estero.
Both goals came from set-pieces. Lionel Messi converted from the penalty spot for Argentina while Chile's Alexis Sanchez was on hand to bundle home Gary Medel's easy square pass from Charles Aranguiz's beautifully floated free-kick.
The draw sees Argentina in second position in the South American World Cup qualifiers table with 11 points, while Chile are in 7th having gathered just 5 points from the 5 games played so far.
The game started off evenly in the opening exchanges with both teams struggling to bypass the midfield. However, Argentina soon found a way to get in the lead when Lautaro Martinez was hacked down by Maripan in the box.
Lionel Messi stepped up to roll the penalty coolly to the wrong side of Claudio Bravo and give Albiceleste the lead in the 24th minute. Chile soon equalized through Alexis Sanchez in the 36th minute.
La Roja won a free-kick in a promising area. Charles Aranguiz stepped up to float a brilliant ball towards Gary Medel who squared it to Sanchez. Alexis Sanchez tapped it into an empty net to grab a crucial equalizer for the visitors.
Lionel Messi almost made it 2-1 for Argentina at the ending of the first half but his free-kick was saved brilliantly by Claudio Bravo to keep the scores level. The second half started off with Argentina pushing for the winner.
Correa's introduction added some cutting edge to Argentina's attack while Angel Di Maria's quick footwork tormented the Chile defenders. However, Argentina failed to find a breakthrough as La Roja somehow managed to hold on.
Lionel Messi almost made it 2 for himself and Argentina when he curled in a stunning free-kick in the 80th minute. However, the Argentine legend was denied by inches as the ball went thundering off the bar instead of finding the back of the net.
Also read: Fabrizio Romano's Transfer Roundup: Update on Lionel Messi's Barcelona future, Chelsea's plan for the summer and more
Argentina pushed and probed for a late winner with Lionel Messi the focus of all attacks. However, a disjointed attacking performance from Scaloni's men meant that the teams shared the spoils at the end of the game.
Without further ado, let us take a look at:
Best Tweets from Argentina 1-1 Chile
Lionel Messi was pulling the strings for Argentina once again
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