BY Victor Akhidenor
Eduardo Vargas scored twice to lead Chile to a 2-1 win over 10-man Peru in the semi-finals of the Copa America.
The former QPR striker put Chile ahead in the 42nd minute after Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez had hit the post.
Peru levelled through a Gary Medel own goal, but the hosts deservedly won it when Vargas fired home a second from 25 yards.
Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal was lucky to still be on the pitch after thrusting his hand into the face of Carlos Zambrano but the defender was not shown the same leniency from referee Jose Argote in the 20th minute when he was shown a straight red card after catching Charles Aranguiz on the back.
Chile made their numerical strength count 22 minutes later with Vargas opening the scoring off a rebound from Sanchez’s shot from outside the area.
Peru had deserved their equaliser but were behind again four minutes later when Vargas scored a stunning second, dipping a shot beyond Pedro Gallese from 25 yards.
Chile, Venezuela and Ecuador are the only countries yet to win the South American championship. But all that could change for the 2015 hosts if they beat the winner in Tuesday’s semi-final clash between Argentina and Paraguay in Saturday’s final – their first final in 28 years.
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