Lautaro Martinez nets both goals as Argentina beat Peru 2-0 in Copa America
Lautaro Martinez nets both goals as Argentina beat Peru 2-0 in Copa America
Lautaro Martinez scored twice as Argentina claimed a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Peru to finish in top spot in group A in the Copa America.
La Albiceleste were without Lionel Messi for their final group stage match after the veteran suffered a leg injury in Argentina's previous clash with Chile.
His presence was clearly missed in the first half, as the world champions struggled to create quality scoring opportunities despite having a lot of possession.
After a mostly dour first half, Argentina finally came close to getting on the board in the 44th minute when Gonzalo Montiel cut the ball back to a flying Giovani Lo Celso.
His strike rebounded off the feet of goalkeeper Pedro Gallese straight to Alejandro Garnacho, but he sent his attempt over the crossbar.
Argentina's breakthrough finally came in the 47th minute when Angel Di Maria found Martinez in a huge gap in Peru's defence.
The Inter Milan striker dutifully put the ball past Gallese to give La Albiceleste some breathing room.
Argentina upped the aggression from there and looked set to stretch the lead to two when the referee awarded a penalty for a handball inside the box.
However, Leandro Paredes rocketed his attempt into the upright, keeping the window open for Peru.
The decisive goal ultimately came in the 86th minute, Lautaro creating space deep inside the box and squeezing a shot past Gallese to put the result to bed.