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WATCH: Man Of The Match Di Maria Pays Emotional Tribute To His Late Grandmother

WATCH: Man Of The Match Di Maria Pays Emotional Tribute To His Late Grandmother

The PSG was in fine form against Chile, last night

Anonymous

Anonymous

Argentina's 2-1 victory over Chile in their opening Copa America Centenario game last night may not have fully avenged their penalty shoot-out loss to Alexis Sanchez and co in last year's final but for Angel Di Maria, the match in California was an emotionally charged affair.

The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder opened the scoring for 'La Albiceleste' before laying on Inter's Ever Banega as Gerardo Martino's men got their Centenario campaign off to the best possible start.

After opening the scoring early in the second half and celebrated by running towards the Argentina bench, where he lifted aloft a t-shirt bearing the message 'Grandma, I will miss you so much'.


The former Manchester United man recently lost his grandmother and used his success on the pitch to pay tribute to her, including a tearful post-match interview after he was named Man of The Match.

The 28-year-old said:

"I wanted to play, my grandmother was so proud that I played for the national team. I am so happy because I was able to score. It was for my grandmother and my family that are having a difficult time. In the morning when I knew what happened I knew that I would score today, and that happened, and it was for her.

"The coach was afraid I was not going to play, but if I don't play my grandma was going to get mad. I wanted to play, my grandmother was so proud that I played for the national team."

Before his virtuoso display against Juan Antonio Pizzi's team, Di Maria had posted a touching tribute to his grandmother on his official Instagram page:

With Di Maria in such a rich vein of form, coming off a fantastic debut season with PSG, Tata Martino may be more relaxed about Lionel Messi's current injury situation that kept the five time Ballon d'Or winner out of last night's match.

(H/T The Mirror)

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Topics: Chile, Angel Di Maria, Football, Copa America Centenario, Argentina, Copa America