Vidal shines in Chile’s victory over Cameroon

The Confederations Cup is off to a good start for Bayern Munich’s own Arturo Vidal. He scored the go-ahead goal late in a tense match against the “Indomitable Lions” of Cameroon. None other than Alexis Sanchez, heavily linked to Bayern Munich in the past weeks as a major transfer target, provided him the assist.

Chile dominated the game to the tune of 66 percent possession, but struggled to finish, firing just 6 of 17 shots on goal. The Lions managed a measly 1 shot on target out of 6. Victory was essential, since Chile finds itself in the same group as powerhouse Germany.

A controversial scene erupted briefly before halftime as Eduardo Vargas (formerly of Hoffenheim) scored the opening goal of the match, only for it to be disallowed after video review. FIFA is testing video assisted refereeing at the Confederations Cup in order to improve the system in anticipation of deploying it more broadly in the future.

Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Vargas was ruled offside and, despite his and Vidal’s protestations, the referee disallowed the goal.

Chile finally broke through in the 80th minute, as Arturo Vidal headed a cross delivered by Alexis Sanchez into the net for a 1-0 lead. Sanchez, who has been struggling with a minor injury, entered the game in the 58th minute. The goal could not have been designed better to tease Bayern Munich fans about what could be if Bayern signed Arsenal’s star winger this transfer window.

Chile put the game beyond reach in the 91st minute, as Vargas got his goal after all, giving Chile a 2-0 victory.