Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas scored second-half goals to give Chile a 2-0 win over Ecuador on Thursday, in the opening match of the Copa America tournament.
Vidal opened the scoring by converting a 63rd-minute penalty and Vargas sealed the victory on a breakaway in the 82nd, giving the hosts the early lead in Group A.
Mexico and Bolivia played the other group match yesterday in Vina del Mar.
Chile is considered one of the favourites to win the 12-nation tournament for the first time thanks to a “Golden Generation” of players that include Vidal, Alexis Sanchez, Claudio Bravo and Jorge Valdivia.
Boosted by the home crowd that packed the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez in Santiago, Chile took the initiative but had difficulties creating significant scoring opportunities.
The penalty call came after Vidal was pulled down inside the area by defender Miller Bolanos, and the Juventus midfielder sent a firm shot into the right upper corner, giving no chance to goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez.
“The first game is difficult, we were nervous,” Vidal said. “The result is the most important.”
Vargas, who entered the match at halftime, added to the lead with a right-footed shot from inside the area on a breakaway that started after a mistake by the Ecuadorean defence near midfield.
The goal came only a minute after Ecuador nearly equalized with Enner Valencia, whose close-range header struck the crossbar with goalkeeper Bravo already beaten.
Chilean substitute midfielder Matias Fernandez was sent off in second-half stoppage time after receiving his second yellow card.
Chile’s next game is against Mexico, while Ecuador faces Bolivia. Both matches will be on Monday.