Copa Cliff Notes, Day 4: Messi-less Argentina pulls off fantastic display

No Lionel Messi? No problem.

Any suggestions that Argentina's national team would struggle without Messi were quickly laid to rest on Monday, as La Albiceleste produced a fanciful show at Levi's Stadium, defeating Chile 2-1 at the Copa America Centenario. The fixture, Group D's second match of the tournament, was a rematch of the final from last year's Copa America in which La Roja won on penalty kicks, and will be treated by the Argentinian population as some measure of revenge.

Before the game kicked off, however, there was yet another incident involving a national anthem. One day after the Chilean anthem was played for Uruguay ahead of its 3-1 loss to Mexico, Chile's anthem was interrupted by the official song of the Copa America Centenario: Pitbull's "Superstar" featuring Becky G. Keep an ear out for "Mr. Worldwide" as the camera pans past Arturo Vidal.

Whether this Chilean supporter was offended remains unknown:

Once the ball got rolling, the balance of play was pretty even, with both teams attacking without any regard for defensive frailties. It was the very essence of a South American fixture, complete with reckless tackles ...

... and Alexis Sanchez's wizardry.

Jurgen Klopp, watching from the stands, must have loved what he was seeing.

Just when Chile was finding some rhythm in the midfield battle, Argentina opened the scoring in the 50th minute when Charles Aranguiz coughed up possession, allowing Ever Banega to feed Angel Di Maria, who beat Claudio Bravo at the near post.

Forced to chase the match, Chile lost its discipline and permitted Argentina to double its lead within 10 minutes by losing the ball while playing out the back. Ever Banega, who missed a penalty in the final of last year's Copa America, made amends by beating Bravo at the near post once again to tally his first-ever goal in the competition.

It was a game decided by the finest of margins, and, after Jose Pedro Fuenzalida pulled a goal back for Chile at the death, things got emotional. Di Maria, whose grandmother passed away before the fixture, could barely speak while fighting tears in his post-match interview.

"I am so happy because I was able to score," Di Maria said. "It was for my grandmother and my family that are having a difficult time. In the morning when I knew that I would score today, and that happened and it was for her. I was afraid of not playing, but if I didn't play, my grandma was going to get mad."

Also in Group D and prior to Argentina's victory, Panama tallied three points by defeating Bolivia 2-1 at Camping World Stadium. Blas Perez scored two goals, including the winner in the 87th minute, capping off a counter-attack before celebrating as though Los Canaleros had won the World Cup.

On Tuesday, Group A action returns. The United States men's national team will look to avoid becoming the Copa America Centenario's first casualty on home soil, as Jurgen Klinsmann's side welcomes Costa Rica in a must-win match at Soldier Field. Once that's done, Colombia will look to book its place in the quarter-finals against Paraguay at the Rose Bowl Stadium.