Arturo Vidal scored the all important goal in the last 10 minutes of the game to power Chile to a win over Colombia in Group B of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017.
Chile faced off against Colombia to get their Confederations Cup journey underway, with Alexis Sanchez on the bench. The Latin American side were the pace-setters throughout the game and seemed to have taken the lead before the Virtual Assistant Review system ruled it out, much to the furor of Arturo Vidal and the whole Chilean side.
Arturo Vidal is clearly not a fan of VAR’s decision to disallow Eduardo Vargas’ effort. ? pic.twitter.com/jy5Gsw2gRK
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) June 18, 2017
The second half unfolded similarly and as the game looked to be heading towards a painful draw, Arturo Vidal emerged the hero as the Bayern Munich superstar got on the end of a lofted cross inside the box to head home the opener in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Alexis Sanchez had come on late in the second half and almost got himself on the scoresheet only for his effort to be blocked by a defender, which was then converted by Vargas, who got on the end of the rebound. Vargas himself had a good game overall and deserved the goal.
Alexis Sanchez has recorded an assist in each of his last four games for Chile.
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?️ vs ?? pic.twitter.com/9Y6JhjDaTt— Jake Entwistle (@JakeEntwistle) June 18, 2017
Alexis Sánchez vs Cameroon N
32 minutes played
11 passes
23 touches
1 take on completed
2 chances created
1 assistDifference maker pic.twitter.com/E2v3Y8Vlj6
— 7 (@drinlala) June 18, 2017
To many, VAR was also a candidate for the Man of the Match after reverting some clutch decisions by the referee. The initial Chilean goal in stoppage time of the first-half was ruled out while the disallowed goal of Vargas in injury time of the second half was subsequently allowed, thanks to the review system.
It will be interesting to see how the VAR will be adopted by various domestic leagues in the near future. But, for the Chilean side, it was Arturo Vidal who shined bright. However, for us, it was Alexis Sanchez who deserved the Man of the Match for having the impact he had after being on the field for just 32 minutes on the field.
The player almost got a goal to his name but managed to claim an assist, which saw the player record an assist each in their last four international games.
Vargas and Vidal came close to the Arsenal superstar but it was Sanchez who made the difference in his not-so-short cameo to earn the Man of the Match award in our eyes.