The issue is known: everyone wants to beat the world champion. Thus, each selection delivers a little more when opposite is the Argentina of Lionel Messiwhich is why away games lately tend to be stuck, frictional, confusing. She was not lucid Combined in Asunción, entered the labyrinth that proposed Gustavo Alfaro y Paraguay They turned the result around to win 2-1 at Defensores del Chaco.
This time, Lionel Scaloni He got his hands on tactics: he opted for an atypical 4-2-3-1, with Julian Alvarez open on the left – as it usually does in Atlético de Madrid and how he did in the duel against Bolivia-, with Messi starting lying on the right and with Lautaro Martínez for reference. What extra move did Scaloneta’s father think of? He tried to put Alexis Mac Allister among Paraguay’s central midfielders. Thus, the son of Colorado was closer to Tour what of Enzo Fernandez and of Rodrigo DePaulwho shared the axis. And Argentina achieved part of the job because they handled the ball widely: 77 percent throughout the 90 minutes. But It lacked the depth and intelligence to respect its essence.
In the initial moments of the initial stage, possession was high and good. Still, it needed to be sharper in the final meters. It is also true that the locals took refuge near the arch that he defended Roberto Fernandez. A fact from the initial stage that shows the lack of spice in the rival field: Emiliano Martínez (19) played it more times than Mac Allister (13).
Quick in the game, Lautaro Martínez received a great pass from Enzo Fernández and scored with a crossed left foot. There was suspense because the VAR was the one who determined that the Inter Milan scorer was enabled. Argentina achieved the most complex thing at the dawn of the duel and the feeling was that the procedure was going to be comfortable for them.
But the failed Combined and ended up playing as badly as ever. Once again the dead ball was once again the weak point. Gustavo Gómez broke the crossbar with a header inches from Back Martínez and in the subsequent action Antonio Sanabria drew a spectacular overhead kick to make it 1-1. They lost the Paraguayan attacker’s mark between Nicolás Otamendi and Cristian Romero, who left at halftime due to discomfort.
The play that changed the attitude of the Argentines was Omar Alderete’s foul on Messi shortly after the end of the initial stage. Scaloni was ejected from the bench asking for the second yellow for the left-footed defender. All the Scaloneta footballers also surrounded Anderson Daronco to complain. The action was, to say the least, controversial. And that feeling of injustice was left hanging around in the game.
To make matters worse, in the first half of the second half, Alderete, who perhaps should not have been on the field, headed the goal to make it 2-1. Again to the Combined They injured her with an air shipment. The free kick from the left of Diego Gómez He went to the far post, where De Paul, Tagliafico, Fernández and the new Balerdi marked the area.
What followed was confusion, an unprecedented issue in Argentinawho fought and forgot to play. Paraguay retreated more than ever: it gave up ground and ball. He almost didn’t counterattack. How did Alfaro’s team score? He grouped himself in the center and handed the wings to the Argentines for the overflows. Of course, the four center backs were waiting in the area: Velázquez, Gómez, Alderete and Alonso. That was the trap the National Team fell into.
Alejandro Garnacho’s entry was not goodwhom many asked for. Julián Álvarez started playing on the right wing and continued away from the area. Of those who entered, Valentín Castellanos was the best: He was close to tying with two headers. Not much more.
And he ran and scored Paraguay. Much more: he cut with a foul every time Messi tried to start. Yes, the place was a bug teamdesigned in the image and likeness of Alfaro.
For Argentina it is the third game without victories as a visitor after the defeat against Colombia and the draw against Venezuela. In addition, the Scaloneta had a result turned around after almost 2 years, since the remembered fall against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup in Qatar.
Scaloni failed in the idea and the players entered the Paraguayan game. That’s why Argentina lost.