Messi sent off, 39 fouls & 9 cards... talking points from a chaotic Copa clash

Having seen their dreams of a third consecutive Copa America final dashed at the semifinal stage, Argentina and Chile battled it out for the third place. But Messi's red card made the match the focus of the world.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting three talking points form the Copa America third-placed playoff between Argentina and Chile.

Messi red card caps off disappointing tournament

The 32-year-old ended the 2018/2019 campaign with 51 goals from 50 matches for Barcelona and it was expected that he would bring this terrific form with him onto the international stage and captain his nation to glory in Brazil.

However that proved to not be the case, as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was largely a spectator when Argentina crawled their way through the group stage and quarterfinal.

In the semifinal game against Brazil, Lionel Messi gave an improved performance but that was not enough as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat to the hosts.

The fixture was littered with numerous flashpoints, with Argentine players and football association vilified at some perceived refereeing errors and the lack of consultation with VAR.

Lionel Messi gave a heated statement to the press after the match and the Argentina FA has lodged a complaint. The Argentine record goalscorer was still evidently nursing grievances over his side's elimination, as he let tempers flare with just under 45 minutes gone in the clash against Chile

A seemingly innocuous challenge boiled over as the notoriously ill-tempered Gary Medel repeatedly provoked the Argentine captain. Messi shoved him to the floor and the Chilean defender retaliated with a headbutt.

This was Messi's first international dismissal in 14 years and there was a belief that Messi's dismissal might be reversed upon VAR review but the decision stood to the disappoint of Messi.

While Argentina might have good cause to believe they were on the receiving end of poor refereeing decisions, Lionel Messi would have an introspective look at his displays and be the first to admit that he performed well beneath his standards.

With just one goal (gotten from the penalty spot) and one assist from six matches, Lionel Messi was extremely poor and moving forward. This is one tournament which the legend would not look back on fondly.

Sanchez pulls up with suspected hamstring injury

Alexis Sanchez has been nothing short of disappointing since making his highly publicized transfer to Manchester United in January 2018. He has scored just five goals from 45 matches in all competitions since arriving Old Trafford.

However, the 30-year-old put his disastrous club form behind him as he played a leading role in helping Chile come all the way in the Copa America.

The former Arsenal man has put up numerous match-winning displays, scoring two goals and registering one assist. He also netted the decisive quarterfinal penalty to help La Roja make it all the way to the semifinal.

So far his performances have seen him installed as one of the favourites to win the Copa America Golden Ball.

He would have been looking to build on his strong performances at the Copa America and stake a claim for a spot in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans.

However those plans have been scuppered, as Alexis Sanchez pulled up with what appeared to be a muscular injury just 17 minutes into the fixture with Argentina and had to be replaced.

His injury comes as a big blow and the Chilean record goalscorer would be hoping for a quick recovery to have a shot at reviving his Manchester United career.

39 fouls, 7 yellow cards & 2 red cards

Given the physical nature of South American football and recent history between Argentina and Chile, a clash between both nations was not going to be for the faint-hearted.

However, both sets of players took the physicality to another dimension. For most of the match, the fixture took on the form of a battlefield with crunching tackles flying in and the referee having a hard time keeping the match in check.

There were a total of 39 fouls at full time, with Argentina committing 21 fouls to Chile's 18. Given the furious nature of the match, it was a given that a red card would be issued and that proved to be the case when Lionel Messi and Gary Medel were shown their marching orders with just 37 minutes gone.

It was just the second time in the last six editions of the Copa America that two red cards would be shown in the first half with the previous time also coming when Argentina and Chile faced off in 2016 final.

In total, Mario Diaz de Vivar issued nine cards on the night as both sides rounded up their 2019 Copa America participation on a very physical note.