Argentina Beat Bolivia Without Tired Lionel Messi As Angel Di Maria Produces Two Assists In La Paz
Argentina beat Bolivia 3-0 in La Paz on Tuesday night despite resting captain Lionel Messi.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, Lyon left-back Nicolas Tagliafico and Fiorentina forward Nicolas Gonzalez scored the goals as Argentina maintained their 100% start to World Cup qualifying.
Two of those goals came after Bolivia had been reduced to 10 men, with Roberto Fernandez sent off in the 39th minute for an ugly foul on Cristian Romero.
Enzo Fernandez pictured scoring for Argentina in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Bolivia
TyC Sports
Messi watched the game from the bench but he was not named as a substitute.
The Inter Miami star had complained of tiredness following last week's 1-0 win over Ecuador and Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni said after Tuesday's game: "Leo was not ready to play. He tried to recover, but he did not feel comfortable."
Bolivia's Estadio Hernando Siles sits 3,000 meters above sea level and is widely considered to be one of the toughest international stadiums to play in, especially for away teams who are not used to the extreme altitude.
An Argentina side containing Messi famously lost 6-1 in La Paz in 2009.
Angel Di Maria was sent off in that thrashing 14 years ago but he performed much better on Tuesday as he assisted two of Argentina's three goals.
Elsewhere on Tuesday night, Brazil beat Peru 1-0 in Lima thanks to a 90th-minute winner scored by Marquinhos and assisted by Neymar.
