Late goals from Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi see Argentina draw with Mexico

09 September 2015 05:31

Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi scored in the final six minutes to spare Argentina's blushes as they secured a 2-2 draw against Mexico at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

On a pitch that attracted plenty of criticism on Twitter, Mexico looked set to claim a notable victory thanks to Javier Hernandez's 19th-minute penalty and Hector Herrera's second-half strike.

But the introduction of Aguero with 15 minutes remaining changed the complexion of the match, with the Manchester City striker halving the deficit before then teeing up Messi to volley home in the dying stages to secure a share of the spoils.

The South Americans enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the opening stages, but found themselves trailing after 19 minutes when former Manchester United striker Hernandez struck from the penalty spot for his 41st international goal.

The spot-kick had been awarded after Raul Jimenez was brought down by new Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi just as he looked to shoot past Nahuel Guzman.

Mexico were nearly pegged back in unfortunate circumstances as a back-pass from defender Rafael Marquez caught Moises Munoz unawares, although the goalkeeper was able to clear the danger and then save a subsequent Tevez strike to save his captain from embarrassment.

Hernandez passed up the opportunity to double Mexico's lead on the stroke of half-time as he blazed over the bar while clean through on goal although Mexico's persistence paid off after 70 minutes.

Miguel Layun picked out Herrera on the edge of the box and the Porto midfielder took advantage of the free space to shoot across Guzman.

It appeared there was no way back for the number one ranked side in the world but Aguero came off the bench with a quarter of an hour to go to spur a comeback.

A ball over the top caught out Munoz, who came rushing out of his goal but was beaten by the bounce, leaving Ezequiel Lavezzi to cut back for Aguero to tap in and hand Argentina a lifeline.

Aguero was in the thick of the action again and with a minute remaining, his dink over the top allowed the onrushing Messi to take a touch with his chest and volley through Munoz's legs from a narrow angle.

Argentina even had the chance to sneak victory in stoppage time but Munoz was able to claw away a free-kick from Ever Banega, ensuring the game finished all-square.

Source: PA