Ben Brereton’s first-ever goal for Chile secured their first victory in the 2021 Copa América with a narrow 1-0 win over a dogged Bolivia team.
Following an early chance for Jean Meneses, Brereton broke the deadlock with 10 minutes played, after Arturo Vidal picked out Eduardo Vargas, who in turn laid the ball off to the Blackburn Rovers man to finish with a clinical right-footed strike.
Bolivia’s keeper Carlos Lampe single-handedly kept his side in the game with a series of saves to keep out Meneses and Vargas.
César Farías’ Bolivia team started the second half well with two early attempts falling to Erwin Savendra – the first was fired straight at Claudio Bravo, but the Real Betis shot-stopper was then forced into a more difficult save to deny the winger after being teed up by Juan Arce.
Chile struggled to recapture the intensity in their play from earlier on in the contest, and could have been made to pay for a sluggish second-half performance when Diego Bejarano couldn’t find the target with a shot from distance, before seeing another attempt deflected wide.
