Gonzalo Higuain rescued a point for an abject Argentina side against Peru in a World Cup qualifying match, while Radamel Falcao and Colombia continued on their merry ways with an impressive 3-1 win over Chile.
In other matches, Salomon Rondon struck a brace to give Venezuela a 2-0 win over Paraguay while Ecuador and Uruguay played out a 1-1 draw.
In Lima, Peru will feel unlucky to not take home full points after putting in a professional and effective performance against the much-fancied Argentines. Lionel Messi, who had recently found form for his country, however, had another one of those invisible games for Argentina, barely finding a firm footing in the game, to carve out the moments of magic that is expected from him time and again.
Peru should have taken the lead early, when Jefferson Farfan was clumsily bundled over by Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria. The referee correctly pointed to the penalty spot, with Claudio Pizarro stepping up to take it. The former Chelsea striker, however, took a poor penalty, allowing Sergio Romero to make the save.
Argentina, instead of taking advantage of the lifeline, played poorly in the first half, with Peru constantly coming in with robust, but reasonably fair challenges.
Peru took the lead in the 22nd minute, when Carlos Zambrano found the net from close-range off a low cross from Luis Advincula.
Argentina, who had failed to carve out any meaningful chance, struck the equaliser on the counter. Federico Fernandez sprayed a long pass to Ezequiel Lavezzi, who took his time before finding Higuian to slam the ball past Peru goalkeeper Raul Fernandez.
Peru created the more clear-cut chances in the second half, with Pizarro coming the closest, when his looping shot struck the post. Argentina, however, hung on desperately in the final moments to take what might prove to be a vital point, and stay atop the standings.
In a game which saw both sides go down to ten men, Falcao made one and scored one to help Colombia to another win. Chile took the lead through Matias Fernandez in the 41st minute, before Manchester United target James Rodriguez levelled the scoring just before the hour. Falcao gave Colombia the lead in the 73rd minute, before setting up Teofilo Gutierrez for Colombia's third.
