After Saturday evening’s disappointing draw with Paraguay the inquest begins as to how Argentina managed to end up with a point after so thoroughly outclassing their opponents for nearly an hour. Given the disparity between Argentina’s performances before and after half-time, judging the players is no easy task. Messi ended his 8-year wait for another Copa América goal and the attack looked unplayable for 45 minutes but tactical errors and slack defending allowed Paraguay back in. So how did the players fare?

Sergio Romero – 6

Little blame for Paraguay’s two goals could be directed at Romero as the Sampdoria keeper had almost no chance with either Nelson Haedo’s long-range piledriver or Lucas Barrios’ late strike. Virtually a spectator in the first half, Romero was called into action during the second half and made a couple of smart saves to ensure the result was no worse on Argentina.

Facundo Roncaglia – 4

In the absence of the usually dependable Pablo Zabaleta, Genoa defender Facundo Roncaglia was given a good opportunity to impress and stake a claim as first-choice right back. During a first half in which his defensive duties were never called upon, he did not make much of a presence in the attack and in the second half he was given a rather rough time. Paraguay exploited the spaces in behind and it would be no surprise if Roncaglia dropped back to the bench for Tuesday’s game with Uruguay.

Ezequiel Garay – 5.5

A mixed performance from Ezequiel Garay: at times the Zenit defender provided a crucial aeriel presence at the back but crucially lost Lucas Barrios for the equalising goal.

Nicolás Otamendi – 6

The entire defence suffered an uncomfortable last half an hour but Otamendi highlighted many of his talents which earned him his place back in the national side. Strong and uncompromising, the Valencia defender provided a very physical presence to the back four and expertly blocked a dangerous shot on goal in the first half to snuff out any danger.

Marcos Rojo – 5

The World Cup proved to be the point that Marcos Rojo made the left-back position his own and while the Manchester United defender did not have a terrible game it was far from his best prompting the debate over the weaknesses of Argentina at full-back. Rojo attempted to aid the attack and got forward well on a number of occasions but also wasted some good openings.

Éver Banega – 6.5

A very good first half saw Banega producing something like his level of performance for Sevilla this season. A busy central midfield presence, helping control possession and moving the ball forward efficiently. When Paraguay began to attack in the second half, Banega was a little overrun and Martino later switched him for Lucas Biglia. Biglia may have been better suited to the rigours of Argentina dropping deeper and so the substitution could have come earlier.

Javier Mascherano – 6

Controlled matters in the first half under little or no pressure but was left exposed when Paraguay pushed forward after the break. With minimal support, Mascherano struggled stem the flow in the middle.

Javier Pastore – 6

Flashes of what Javier Pastore is all about were on show in the first half as the Paris St Germain playmaker spread the ball and broke forward from deep. Some delightful link-up play with Messi and a powerful shot of his own almost added a third but when the momentum shifted, Pastore was absent.

Lionel Messi – 7

Messi was at the heart of virtually everything good that Argentina did in attack and Paraguay quickly appeared to decide that the one way to stop the best player in the world was foul him. In spite of this, captain Messi ended his Copa América goal drought from the penalty spot, should have had another after being bundled to the ground and came close in the second half and skipping through the heart of the Paraguay defence only to see the angle narrow and his shot fly across the face of goal.

Sergio Agüero – 6

In the opening 45 minutes, Agüero gave a clear example of how much Argentina benefit from having a fit and hungry Kun in attack. This was missing in Brazil and La Albiceleste suffered as a result but on Saturday night, Agüero was the live-wire that he has been for Manchester City this season. In addition to his excellently taken goal, he pulled the Paraguay defence around and could have added a second but like many others when the game shifted, his contribution diminished.

Ángel Di María – 5

A real mixed bag for the Manchester United player as he revelled in the space given to him by the Paraguay defence in the first half but on many occasions misplaced his pass or chose the wrong option. His pace on the left was an asset for Argentina and he was always looking for the ball but El Fideo was not at his most effective. Dropping deeper in the second half there were a couple of hairy moments when trying to defend but Di María remains an important player to this side.

Substitutes

Carlos Tevez – 5

Introduced at a time when the game had turned and in a rather unfamiliar position did not see much of an impact from Tevez. The Juventus striker tried to get involved but his only real contribution was missing a decent headed chance in the final stages.

Gonzalo Higuaín – 4

In the fifteen minutes that Higuaín was given, the Napoli striker provided very little.
Lucas Biglia – 4.5

Returning from a knee injury to play the closing stages of a match as chaotic as this turned out was not easy and Biglia looked a little off the pace. Undoubtedly a starter when fit and his presence in the centre was needed earlier in the game to help shore things up.

Coach

Gerardo Martino – 4

Martino seemed to get things very wrong in the second half as when Argentina began loosing their grip on the game he failed to make the necessary changes which would have helped to regain control. The double-introduction of Tevez and Higuaín was bizarre and the match ended being needlessly open when Martino would have been better protecting the two-goal lead and hitting Paraguay on the break. That being said, Martino’s side in the first half with Pastore linking things with a superb looking attack was excellent. There are lessons to be learned from Saturday and hopefully Tata will have done just that.