Argentina beat Columbia to reach Copa final

Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa enjoyed one of the best performances of his five-year reign as his team demolished Colombia 3-…

Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa enjoyed one of the best performances of his five-year reign as his team demolished Colombia 3-0 in last night's Copa America semi-final.

"I don't have all our games readily in my mind, but, yes, I think it was one of our best performances," the introverted coach told the post-match media conference.
   
"It's not frequent that we play so well and win so convincingly. It was a pleasant surprise."
   
Colombia never got a look-in as Argentina took control of the match from the opening minutes.
   
Bielsa's team won with a first-half free kick from 20-year-old Carlos Tevez and second half strikes from Luis Gonzalez and Juan Pablo Sorin.
   
"It was a performance which established a clear difference between ourselves and the our opponents," Bielsa said. "It was a fair result and a convincing performance.
   
"We controlled the game, we didn't give Colombia a chance, we didn't suffer any counter-attacks and we calmly created plenty of chances to justify the difference."

The match was a different story to last month's friendly in Miami, which Colombia won 2-0.
   
"The days change, the performances as well, football is not something predictable as far as performances go," Bielsa said.
   
Colombia coach Reinaldo Rueda admitted his side had been outplayed as they lost for only the second time in eleven matches under his command.
   
Rueda has led a revival for his team after taking over from Francisco Maturana, who was sacked last year after Colombia made a poor start to the World Cup qualifiers.
   
"We didn't get ourselves together today, he said. "Argentina were aggressive from the first moment and we didn't have an answer.
   
"These things happen in football," he added. "Argentina had the personality, the willpower, the determination from the start. They didn't give us space and we lacked mobility."