Friday, September 6, 2013

Chile 3 - Venezuela 0

Venezuela made the trip down to Santiago to take on suddenly-surging Chile.  A stomach virus made the trip with them, and a majority of the Venezuelan players were dealing with the bug as the took the field.  Chile showed no mercy.  Eduardo Vargas was able to trap a high pass and spin in the Venezuelan penalty area while losing the mark of Venezuela centerback Grenddy Perozo.  Vargas finished his chase to the far corner and gave the hosts a 1-0 lead.  A fantastic through ball from Cesar Gonzalez put Salomon Rondon in on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat, but the would-be equalizer was sent sky high.  At the half hour mark, a Marcelo Diaz cross was nodded to the far post by Arturo Vidal (pictured, red #8), but Venezuela goalkeeper Dani Hernandez intervened with a flying fist.  Marc Gonzalez made no mistake with the rebound, thrusting himself head-first into the ball to give Chile a 2-0 lead.  The halftime scoreboard read Chile 2, Venezuela 0.

Venezuela had a valid goal disallowed for some unknown reason.  A Gonzalez cross was flicked on into the goal by Rondon, who was neither offside nor in contact with any defender during the play.  Notwithstanding the validity of the play, the score remained 2-0, and Venezuela seemed to lose spirit after the call.  Vargas made a fantastic run to the far post and was open to receive the cross, but he forgot that to score a header needs to be on frame.  Vidal and Alexis Sanchez worked a long-range one-two-one for Chile's third goal.  Vidal made a long pass out right and Sanchez popped up a cross long and to the left.  Vidal connected with a diving header, and the hosts were up three.  Chile win 3-0.

Goals
Chile
Eduardo Vargas 10
Marc Gonzalez 30
Arturo Vidal 84

Match Reports:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1764805-chile-vs-venezuela-score-grades-and-post-match-reaction

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVQ2phsCZQU

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