Messi Win Over Chile for Argentina

Lionel Messi’s return sparked Argentina to a 2-1 win over Chile in Santiago on Thursday, breathing new life into their South American qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.

Messi, who had missed the first four games last year with a knee injury, laid on the 24th-minute winner for defender Gabriel Mercado after Angel Di Maria had cancelled out Felipe Gutierrez’s opener for Chile.

Argentina, beaten finalists at the last World Cup in Brazil, moved up to fourth in the 10-team group on eight points from five games. The top four qualify automatically for Russia with the fifth-ranked team going into an intercontinental playoff.

“We had to win in whatever way we could,” Messi told broadcasters TyC Sports. “I was glad to be back to help this group of players who fight for every point to the death.”

Chile, who had beaten Argentina in the Copa America final in Santiago last July, took the lead after 10 minutes when Gutierrez took advantage of poor defending at a corner to head past goalkeeper Sergio Romero.

The home side dominated the opening quarter of an hour as Argentina struggled to find their feet but the tide turned when Di Maria curled a right-footed shot past Claudio Bravo for the equaliser 10 minutes later. Argentina then pulled ahead when Messi won a tussle for the ball inside the box and lifted it over to right back Gabriel Mercado, who hooked the ball home past Bravo.

Chile drove forward in the second half searching for the equaliser, keeping Messi in check and Argentina on the back foot. Fabian Orellana forced a diving save from Romero, substitute Mauricio Pinilla hit the side netting and Alexis Sanchez hit a 90th-minute free kick over the bar but the home side were unable to break through.

The defeat leaves Chile in sixth place on seven points, six behind leaders Ecuador, who needed a stoppage-time goal by Angel Mena to rescue a 2-2 draw at home to Paraguay. The draw ended a run of four straight wins for Ecuador but they remain the only unbeaten team in the group.

Joining Chile on seven points are Colombia, who got an injury-time winner from Edwin Cardona to beat Bolivia 3-2. Venezuela, bottom of the group and without a point, are currently in action against next-to-last Peru in Lima. Second-placed Uruguay play Brazil, who are fifth, in Recife on Friday.

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Florentino at Odds with Cristiano

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Real Madrid’s president Florentino Pérez played down an apparent spat with Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday and defended his club’s transfer policy.

Pérez, who has splashed hundreds of millions of euros of the European champions’ cash on top players in recent years, said the loyalty of Ronaldo, the current world player of the year, had been “unquestionable”. The Portugal captain made headlines on Monday when he said the club’s transfer dealings in the latest window would probably have been different if he had been in charge.

“I know Cristiano Ronaldo very well,” Pérez said in a press conference on Thursday. “Cristiano is the best player in the world and his loyalty to Madrid is unquestionable. I have listened to all the comments he made and as I know him, I know that he never questioned the club. My relationship with him is perfect, there are zero discrepancies.”

After winning a record-extending 10th European crown last season, when Ronaldo was the team’s top scorer, Real sold Xabi Alonso and Ángel di Maria and brought in Toni Kroos and James Rodríguez. The departure of Alonso to Bayern Munich, in particular, has prompted suggestions the Madrid club will not have enough quality and experience in midfield without him, while the Argentinian Di María is seen as close to Ronaldo.

Real stuttered in their second La Liga outing at the weekend when they let slip a 2-0 lead and crashed to a 4-2 reverse at Real Sociedad. Ronaldo, 29, missed the game through injury and he followed up his comments on Monday by giving an interview to a British newspaper in which he appeared to suggest he wanted to return to former club Manchester United at some point in his career.

Pérez, who pushed through a lucrative contract extension for Ronaldo in September last year that ties him to the club until 2018, defended Real’s decision to sell Alonso and Di María. “I’ve been here since 2000,” Pérez said. “Since then a lot of players have come and gone and my experience tells me that the ones that leave are always the best and those that arrive are always questioned.

“My first [signing] was [Zinezine] Zidane and the last [before this summer’s transfer market] was [Gareth] Bale. We made the best offer that we could to Di María and he didn’t accept it. Hence, we brought in James [Rodríguez], one of the best players at the World Cup and the Golden Boot award winner.

“Di María had financial requests that I considered legitimate but we couldn’t satisfy them. I reiterate that we made him the best possible offer.

“With the exception of Cristiano [Ronaldo], Di María would have been the highest paid at Real Madrid. Had we accepted his financial demands it would have created an unbalanced treatment that would have put the club’s stability in danger.”

Pérez also explained Alonso’s surprising move to Bayern. “Xabi came to us and told us that he wanted to leave,” he said. “He thought it was the best for him and for the club. Our relationship with Xabi is excellent and we accepted his proposal.

“Xabi is in the final stages of his sporting career and wants to manage it in this way. We understand it and we respect it.”

Pérez revealed that Carlo Ancelotti proved crucial in his club’s decision not to sign Radamel Falcao this summer. Falcao was heavily linked with a move to the Bernabéu in the past few months but joined Manchester United on a season-long loan from Monaco on Monday instead.

“We considered signing Falcao,” Pérez said. “But in this club we follow a sporting-economic equation which [the former club president Santiago] Bernabéu taught us, and we decided not to do so. The coach’s opinion was also important in us turning it down.

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Ancelotti Starts with Real Win

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Carlo Ancelotti's first match in charge of Real Madrid saw them stroll to a stylish 6-0 win over Championship Bournemouth at Dean Court.

Cristiano Ronaldo netted the first goal of the Italian's reign and added another before Sami Khedira scored on the stroke of half-time.

Bournemouth, whose chairman Eddie Mitchell said this fixture was a reward for their long-suffering support, failed to provide a goal for them to cheer as Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and then Casemiro got in on the act.

Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho's replacement, included new signing Isco in his line-up and there was certainly enough household names in his first Madrid XI to keep the capacity crowd, many of whom had paid £60 and queued overnight for their ticket, happy.

And it took the most stellar name of all just seven minutes to almost make his mark with one of Ronaldo's trademark free-kicks whistling past the top corner in a climate more typical of the Bernabeu than Boscombe.

Bournemouth did have their moments early on with two January additions Ryan Fraser and Brett Pitman combining. The latter saw his low drive deflected wide after a mazy run from Fraser before Pitman's audacious chip fell just off target.

Cheered by all four sides of the ground throughout, Ronaldo, the world's most expensive footballer, was clearly enjoying himself as he showcased his repertoire of flicks and tricks. One backheel forced Darryl Flahavan into a smart stop and another teed up Karim Benzema who was denied by the goalkeeper.

It was no surprise then to see Ronaldo break the deadlock just after the half hour mark. Once the visitors were awarded a free-kick 30 yards from goal there was only going to be one taker and the Portuguese curled a trademark dipping effort into the bottom corner.

While the nine-time European Cup winners spent £34 million this summer on substitute Asier Illarramendi, one of Eddie Howe's new acquisitions Elliott Ward, snapped up after leaving Norwich, was also benched. But the centre-back was soon sent on for striker Pitman as the former Burnley boss looked to stem the tide.

Madrid began to up the ante and only a top-draw tackle from Welsh midfielder Shaun McDonald denied Ronaldo just as he wound up his famous right-foot having cut inside. But Ronaldo would not be denied and a minute later he grabbed his second, rounding Flahavan and rolling the ball home after breaking the Cherries' offside trap.

On the stroke of half-time it was three when Khedira converted fellow countryman Ozil's corner, despite the best attempts of MacDonald on the line.

And with the first attack of the second half in-demand striker Higuain made it four just two minutes after his introduction. The Argentinian found the bottom corner with typical accuracy when one-on-one. He was only denied a second shortly after by a fine stop from Flahavan to keep out his powerful drive.

Fellow half-time substitute Kaka came within a lick of paint from adding his name to the scoresheet when his splendid curling effort crashed back off the crossbar.

Another replacement Di Maria added a fifth after weaving his way through a sea of Cherries players and with seven minutes to go Brazilian Casemiro started and finished a fine passing move.

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