Alexis Sánchez shrugged off an ankle injury and continued his resurgent form at the Copa América as the Chile striker fired his side to a 2-1 victory over Ecuador which took the holders into the quarter-finals of the competition.
Chile took the lead in the eighth minute when José Pedro Fuenzalida volleyed into the net but Ecuador were awarded a penalty when goalkeeper Gabriel Arias clattered Jhegson Méndez, allowing Enner Valencia to level from the spot in the 26th.
Sánchez, who had ended a barren five-month spell by scoring in Monday’s 4-0 win against Japan, put Chile ahead early in the second half, expertly guiding a bouncing cross into the net with one touch.
Ecuador, who were hammered 4-0 by Uruguay in their opening game, rarely threatened again and saw defender Gabriel Achilier receive a straight red card in stoppage time for a rash tackle on Arturo Vidal, who had to be taken off.
Sánchez later revealed he had been playing with an ankle injury sustained in the first half. “After a cross I rolled my ankle but I put a bandage on it, I took a pill for the pain and I came out again,” he said. “I think I have a sprain, I was playing with pain but I hope it’s not too serious.”
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Chile coach Reinaldo Rueda praised Sánchez for playing on, adding that the ankle was not the same one he injured in May. “He was evaluated by the doctors at half-time who said he could continue, although he put lots of ice on it at halftime. He made a huge effort in the second half,” he said. “We’ll evaluate it again but we hope it isn’t serious.”
Chile, Copa champions in 2015 and 2016, lead Group C on six points. Uruguay are second on four with Japan third on one and Ecuador bottom with no points. Ecuador still have an outside chance of sneaking into the quarter-finals as one of the two best ranked third-place finishers but they must win their game against Japan on Monday and hope other results go their way.
Their coach, Hernán Darío Gómez, gave the briefest of post-match news conferences, saying he was not in the mood to take questions and gave a short assessment of the game before leaving.