Peru’s Paolo Guerrero (left) tries to evade Chile’s Gary Medel (Photo : Reuters)
Hometown heroes Chile edged a hard-fighting Peruvian eleven, 2-1, to claim the first slot in the final of the 2015 Copa America.
Napoli winger Eduardo Vargas provided the double at the 41st and 63rd-minute marks to lead La Roja past La Blanquirroja amidst another controversial game for the hosts.
Ricardo Gareca's team was down to one man when Vargas scored his first goal after center back Carlos Zambrano was sent off in the 21st minute for accidentally kicking Chilean midfielder Charles Aránguiz's back.
The Eintracht Frankfurt defender appeared to be booting the ball away when his follow-through unfortunately reached Aránguiz. Still the referee made a decision to give Zambrano a straight red, giving the hosts a man advantage for the second straight game.
Witnesses and social media were divided on whether the punishment was warranted, as per Bleacher Report. But it would have been Zambrano's second yellow and would still have sent him off anyway.
Zambrano was involved in an earlier altercation with Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal, although both players were not given any cards and were just warned by Venezuelan referee José Argote.
Chilean defender Gary Medel scored an own-goal to level the match in the hour mark of the second half, but three minutes later Vargas converted a great shot from 25 yards that found the top-left corner of the net to lift Jorge Sampaoli's squad once again.
Curiously, this was the second consecutive game that the hosts have won after one of their opponent's players had received a red send off, as reported by The Guardian.
Chile, who has never won the Copa America title, will face the winner of the other semifinal match between Argentina and Paraguay on July 4 to determine the tournament's champion.
