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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

Angel Di Maria reacts to Argentina defeat after being brutally blamed by Roy Keane

Angel Di Maria's Argentina are reeling from their opening game defeat at the hands of World Cup minnows Saudi Arabia in what was one of the biggest shocks in the tournament's history.

The Juventus star come in for some serious criticism from Manchester United legend Roy Keane in the immediate aftermath of the stunning defeat, with the Irishman accusing Di Maria of being at fault for Salem Al-Dawsari's sensational winner.

In what was undeniably the goal of the tournament so far, Saudi Arabia's second inspired an impassioned piece of analysis from Keane who did not hold back on ex-United winger Di Maria. "There's no aggression, there are bodies there, you've got to go attack there, they've lost all composure," the Old Trafford icon told ITV.

"They've lost their heads, look at Di Maria… Di Maria, my god!"

The 34-year-old wide-forward was disappointed come full-time, as he confessed: "We could easily have won 5-0, but they came two or three times and put them in."

It is true that the Argentines dominated the opening exchanges and actually had the ball in the back of the Saudi net four times inside the first 45 minutes, but only Lionel Messi's 10th minute penalty actually counted. Lautaro Martinez had a brace chalked off, while Messi had another flagged for offisde - something Di Maria bemoaned.

Angel Di Maria was not at his best during Argentina's shock 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia ((Photo by Richard Sellers/Getty Images))

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"The offsides were always very close. We work on it and sometimes wanting to work before causes you to be ahead."

Argentina went into the clash boasting an impressive 36-game unbeaten run, but that has since ended as a result of their dismal display on Tuesday.

The run being brought to an end by Saudi Arabia didn't seem to phase Di Maria too much, as he added: "At some point it could happen. Now Mexico is coming and hopefully they will get the three points."

Team-mate and captain Messi echoed a similar sentiment as he told reporters: "We are a united group and now is the time to be united. We have to show that we are strong. We haven't suffered a defeat in a long time and now we have to prepare what comes against Mexico."

Few fans of either side could believe what they were witnessing come full-time, with Saudi Arabia's miserable history at World Cups prompting many supporters and pundits alike writing them off before a ball had even been kicked.

The result has blown Group C wide open, with Saudi Arabia now enjoying a two-point lead at the top of the group after Poland and Mexico played out a cagey 0-0 draw.

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