Santiago: Arturo Vidal buried his Champions League heartache to set up a 2-0 opening victory for Chile over Ecuador as the Copa America kicked off here on Thursday. Juventus star Vidal bounced back from the disappointment of defeat to Barcelona in last week’s Champions League final to score a 67th-minute penalty in a man-of-the-match performance. Napoli’s Eduardo Vargas made it 2-0 late on to give the Chileans a winning start in Group ‘A’ as they chase a first Copa America crown in 99 years of efforts.
“It was very difficult, they pushed us to the end,” Vidal said after. “We are very happy but we know we have to improve on this. The result is what counts though,” he added. Vidal admitted he was still weary after turning out for Chile just days after last weekend’s Champions League final in Berlin. “My back hurts a bit and I will need a massage after the match,” he said.
The win puts Chile firmly on course to qualify for the quarterfinals. Group ‘A’ also contains Mexico and Bolivia, who meet on Friday in the second game of the tournament. Chile had been unable to find a breakthrough until Vidal burst forward midway through the second half of the game. Argentina open their campaign against Paraguay on Sunday.
