Three second half goals saw Argentina ease past Chile in World Cup Qualifying, extending their lead at the top of the table.
Scorers: Mac Allister 48′, Alvarez 84′, Dybala 90+1
The two sides had experienced opposite fortunes in the opening seven games of the qualifying schedule. While Argentina came into the night having won five of their opening matches, Chile have been in a rut with just one win.
That gulf in form, and talent for that matter, was on full display in the opening 45 minutes as Argentina dominated the ball while their visitors hardly got involved. Nonetheless, Lautaro MartÃnez and Julián Alvarez struggled to fashion and meaningful scoring opportunities.
The dam finally broke soon after the restart as Alexis Mac Allister popped up from midfield to fire Argentina into a deserved lead.
While Chile hardly mustered any fightback, any hopes of salvaging a late point were squashed in the final 10 minutes when Julián Alvarez got his name on the scoresheet with a screamer from the edge of the box just shortly before Paulo Dybala added a third.
Next up for the reigning champions is a qualifying showdown with Colombia, while Chile will take on Bolivia.