Chile rode their luck against Peru: COACH

SANTIAGO — Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli has admitted his side were fortunate to reach the final of the Copa America after a nervous semi-final win over arch-rivals Peru on Monday (yesterday morning, Singapore time).

Two goals from Eduardo Vargas, either side of an own goal by Gary Medel, gave the hosts a 2-1 victory in Santiago to set up a final on Sunday against Paraguay or Argentina, who face each other in the other semi-final in Concepcion on Tuesday (this morning, Singapore time).

Peru played for most of the match with 10 men after defender Carlos Zambrano was sent off in the 20th minute for a challenge on Chile’s Charles Aranguiz, but Sampaoli said the numerical superiority had unexpectedly caused his side problems.

“The ejection seemed to hurt us more than it hurt them,” Sampaoli was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. “The anxiety turned against us, and we ended struggling.”

Defender Mauricio Isla added: “I think the pressure got to us. We were a little bit tired and Peru made things quite difficult.”

Chile have never won the 99-year-old Copa America. The last time they reached the final was also on home soil in 1987, when they lost 1-0 to Uruguay.

Meanwhile, Chile defender Gonzalo Jara, who got Edinson Cavani sent off for retaliation after he stuck a finger into Uruguayan’s rear end in their sides’ ill-tempered quarter-final last week, had allegedly taunted the Paris Saint-Germain star shortly before the incident.

The Guardian reported that Uruguay assistant coach Mario Rebollo has accused Jara of provoking Cavani by saying his father Luis would be jailed for 20 years over a fatal accident last week.

But various reports say Jara’s subsequent three-match ban has been reduced to two after an appeal by the Chilean Football Federation, although he would still be out of the rest of the tournament. AGENCIES

TV Times: Copa America semi-final — Paraguay v Argentina on StarHub TV Ch202, 7.30am today.