- Argentina suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat to Uruguay in World Cup qualifying
- Manuel Ugarte made an obscene gesture towards Rodrigo De Paul
- Southgate’s loyalty to his players is a problem and a weakness It all starts
Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte made an obscene gesture towards Rodrigo De Paul during an ill-tempered World Cup qualifier on Thursday evening as Argentina suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat.
In the first half of the match in Buenos Aires, Ugarte got into conversation with De Paul, where he appeared to call him ‘Lionel Messi’s c**k sucker’.
The gesture provoked an angry reaction from De Paul, and it was not the only time tempers threatened to boil over as Messi had to be restrained after putting his hands on Mathias Olivera’s throat.
Goals from Ronaldo Aruajo and Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez handed Argentina their first defeat since winning the World Cup last December, but Messi was in no mood to congratulate their opponents afterwards.
Instead, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner called on Uruguay’s players to ‘learn respect’ after the fiery encounter.
Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte made an obscene gesture at Rodrigo de Paul
Messi had avoided being sent off for putting his hands around Mathias Olivera’s throat
Messi claimed after the match that Uruguay had to learn respect after the bad-tempered clash
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Ronald Araujo and Darwin Nunez struck for Uruguay as Marcelo Bielsa’s side upset the hosts in Buenos Aires.
“These kinds of matches, qualifying matches, against Uruguay, it’s always like this,” Messi told reporters.
‘I’d rather not say what I think. Young people must learn to respect their elders.
“These games are always intense but very respectful, so they have to learn a little bit.”
The defeat was Argentina’s first home defeat since losing 1-0 to Paraguay in 2016, also during World Cup qualifying.
Lionel Messi and Argentina saw their unbeaten run end in Uruguay in an ill-tempered match
Argentina lost 2–0 to their rivals – their first defeat in La Bombonera since a 1977 friendly
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was on target for Uruguay in a memorable win over Argentina
Argentina had not lost in La Bombonera since a 3-1 defeat to Germany in a friendly in 1977.
The world champion remains at the top of the World Cup qualifying standings in South America, with twelve points from five games.
Uruguay moved up to second place after their win with Bielsa’s side on 10 points, followed by Colombia and Venezuela on nine and eight respectively.
Argentina will travel to face arch-rivals Brazil on November 21, with the hosts having suffered back-to-back defeats and sitting fifth in the standings.