INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES:France 0 Argentina 2
JONAS GUTIERREZ and Lionel Messi scored in each half to maintain Diego Maradona’s perfect start as Argentina coach with a 2-0 win against France in a friendly international in Marseille last night.
Newcastle midfielder Gutierrez collected a Sergio Aguero cross from the right and fired past France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda four minutes before the interval.
Barcelona forward Messi secured victory seven minutes from time when he slotted the ball past Mandanda following an impressive slalom through the defence. It was Maradona’s second victory in two matches since he took over as Argentina coach last November. Maradona started his job with a 1-0 win over Scotland in November but he knew World Cup finalists France would be a tougher nut to crack.
Argentina started cautiously in the first half but Gutierrez’s strike gave them the confidence to frustrate France.
Raymond Domenech substituted Anelka with Karim Benzema in the 65th minute but to no effect.
In the 81st minute, Aguero made room for Carlos Tevez, whose impact was almost immediate as he launched a counter attack from his own half to set up Messi for his team’s second goal.
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