Santiago – Argentine coach Gerardo Martino is concerned by the way his side squandered a two-goal lead against Paraguay in their opening Copa America match on Saturday.
Argentina looked to be cruising to victory in the Chilean city of La Serena, thanks to first-half goals from Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi from the penalty spot, but Paraguay fought back to score twice in the second half for a 2-2 draw.
“What worries me most are the two extremes that the team played at,” Martino said. “It’s clear that we need to play matches with absolute control.”
Argentina were in cruise control early on, enjoying 75 percent of first-half possession and firing in seven shots on goal without reply.
But the Paraguayans came out fighting in the second half and scored through Nelson Haedo Valdez before Lucas Barrios slammed home a 90th minute equaliser.
“We controlled the game for 50 minutes and we could have scored again,” Martino said. “But after that it was a game in which we were filled with doubt. We retreated into our own half and we couldn’t keep up the pressure of the first half.”
Goalkeeper Sergio Romero also acknowledged the Argentines had taken their foot off the pedal in the latter stages.
“But South America is like that. No team gives you anything as a gift. We knew that Paraguay would play hard,” he said. – Reuters