Uruguay’s Copa America semi-final loss to Colombia saw Marcelo Bielsa explode in a press conference but it also meant the Leeds United legend would face Jesse Marsch in the third-place play-off.
In a heated encounter, Bielsa’s side lost 1-0 to Colombia despite the latter going down to 10 men just before half-time. Ugly scenes followed, as Darwin Nunez and others clashed with Colombia supporters.
It saw Leeds icon Bielsa see red mist in his post-match press conference, taking aim at the organisation of the tournament, the condition of the pitches and many other things. It also meant a third-place play-off.
In the other semi-final, Lionel Messi finally scored his first goal of the tournament as Argentina cruised past Jesse Marsch’s Canada to win 2-0. Marsch’s side faced Bielsa’s Uruguay last night in a great game.
Bielsa v Marsch as penalty-shootout follows 2-2 draw
Tottenham man Rodrigo Bentancur gave Uruguay the head from a corner with a wonderful finish early on, But Marseille’s Ismael Kone replied with an even better finish from a Canada corner, chipping the keeper.
Canada actually had the better of the chances and Jonathan David came off the bench to score late on, only for Liverpool and Barcelona icon Luis Suarez to score in injury time and take the game to a shootout.
Missed penalties from Kone and Alphonso Davies of all people saw Uruguay win the shootout, as Bielsa edged Marsch out in a brilliant meeting between the two former Leeds managers in North Carolina.
No doubting who Leeds fans will have wanted to win
In terms of players and who should have won the game on paper, Uruguay prevailed in the end. Leeds fans will have been desperate to see Bielsa get the win and beat Marsch in the early hours this morning.
But it is testament to the job Marsch has done, that his underdog Canada side have achieved much more than expected and reach the semi-finals of a competition where they were expected to really struggle in.
However, Leeds fans will be delighted to see that it was Bielsa that got the win eventually over a Marsch side that really should have won, given the chances. It will be interesting to see if both stay in their jobs.
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