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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Arsenal v Barcelona - Preview

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Luis Enrique will be waving his magic wand over his much-lauded attacking trio when Barcelona take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

The reigning European champions head to north London having won 16 of their last 18 games in all competitions and with their front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar already scoring 91 goals between them this season.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger labelled Barcelona as not far from perfect when addressing the media ahead of the game — calling the three-pronged attack a collection of “top, top class” players.

And Enrique, looking to mastermind a first win for the Catalan giants at the Emirates Stadium, says he only has to say the magic words to get his wish from his star names.

“I tell them ‘abracadabra’ and the magic sparks — that is all I do!” he said.

“I always work really hard and I always had the chance to have plenty of good strikers in my squad, it is quite simple, quite easy.

“In some situations you don’t even have to wish what you would like them to do, they already do it. We have to work hard so our midfielders can give them the ball.

“We all have the same targets and we know how difficult it is to achieve those targets. I’m delighted with those three and also with the squad.

“I have three great players, they are the chosen ones, they are eager to win and every two or three days they have new motivation. I see them training and I’m delighted to be their manager.”

Midfielder Ivan Rakitic is one of the players tasked with feeding the ball to Messi, Suarez and Neymar to allow them to set about bamboozling defences.

The Croatia international likened his team-mates to children playing the sport - given how much joy having a ball at their feet gives them.

“We are really happy about having those three in our squad,” he said.

“It makes you really proud and I wouldn’t say that they never rest or they never stop playing in a game, I would say that if they didn’t play they wouldn’t like it.

“They are like children playing football and it would be like taking the ball away from them (to rest them). We must try to help them be better, those three players make us a different team and hopefully they make us better.

“We have to focus on what we do and we are really delighted to play with Messi, Suarez and Neymar.”

While Wenger opted to completely rest the likes of Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil for Arsenal’s 0-0 FA Cup fifth-round stalemate against Hull on Saturday, Enrique kept his main men in the side which beat Las Palmas in the Primera Division.

He did make changes to his side but insists he will run the risk of upsetting supporters by playing his key men if and when he desires.

“Yes and I did them, I rotate,” Enrique replied when asked about a lack of alterations on Saturday.

“I made the decisions that I thought were best for my team. I’m a decision maker and I make decisions constantly every two or three days, whether my decisions are liked or not is something I can’t control.”

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Sports Quotes - Arsene Wenger

"A football team is like a beautiful woman.

When you do not tell her, she forgets she is beautiful."

Arsène Wenger

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Messi Sets Barca Goal Record

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Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to become Barcelona's all-time record goalscorer as they cut the gap on La Liga leaders Real Madrid to four points ahead of their meeting next weekend with a 7-0 thrashing of Osasuna.

After a slow start, the hosts were sparked into life by Messi's opening goal as he flicked home at the near post from Alexis Sanchez's cross.

Sanchez was next on the scoresheet as he finished off a similar move involving Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba before Iniesta's wonderful strike from 25 yards made it 3-0.

Messi then broke another record by registering his 370th Barca goal to overtake Paulinho Alcantara as the club's record marksman before rounding off his hat-trick in between further strikes from Cristian Tello and Pedro Rodriguez.

"The victory is very important because we remain four points behind Madrid," Sanchez told Canal Plus.

"We played a great game and I am happy with my performance as I scored and provided an assist."

Next up for Barcelona is a trip to the Santiago Bernabéu next Sunday and Sanchez is sure they can get themselves back into the title race by ending Madrid's five-month unbeaten run in all competitions.

"I think we can beat Real Madrid in the Bernabéu and that would put us right in the fight for La Liga.

"Both teams will see themselves as favourites, they are the two biggest clubs in the world and it will be a great game. We are going to the Bernabéu with only the intention of winning."

Amazingly, Barca had to withstand a bright opening from Osasuna as Victor Valdes produced a great save to deny Emiliano Armenteros and Oriol Riera was rightly flagged offside as he put the rebound into the net.

However, the Catalans opened the scoring 10 minutes later when Sanchez was fed by Xavi and Messi got across his man to delicately touch home the Chilean's low cross.

Sanchez should have doubled his side's advantage two minutes later when he chipped over with just Andres Fernandez to beat, but the former Udinese man made amends when he side-footed home after a lovely one-two between Alba and Iniesta opened up the Osasuna defence.

Iniesta then made it 3-0 with just his second goal of the season 11 minutes before half-time with a sweetly struck left-footed effort that flew into the top corner.

Fernandez was forced into fine saves from Dani Alves and Xavi to ensure Barca didn't go in even further ahead at the break.

Osasuna should have got themselves back in the game early in the second-half as Riera and Roberto Torres failed to hit the target when presented with clear sights of goal.

They were soon further behind, though, as Messi slammed home Iniesta's cutback just after the hour mark to surpass Alcantara's 369 goals in 357 games between 1912 and 1927.

Substitute Tello got his side's fifth goal with virtually his first touch as he whipped the ball into the far corner from just outside the area.

Messi fittingly sealed his hat-trick as he received Dani Alves' pass before easily side-footing in from close range for his 31st goal of the season.

And Messi then teed up Pedro to make it 7-0 in stoppage time with a neat low finish past Fernandez.

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