Emi Martínez kept a third successive clean sheet of the October internationals as Argentina saw off Peru 1-0 to strengthen their grip on World Cup qualification.
Martínez completed 90 minutes as Argentina claimed a narrow victory on Friday morning, with the Aston Villa goalkeeper conceding a second-half penalty before seeing Yoshimar Yotun’s spot-kick hit the crossbar and go away to safety.
The clash was settled by Lautaro Martinez’s 43rd-minute header in Buenos Aires.
It ensured Villa stopper Martínez has kept back-to-back clean sheets against Paraguay, Uruguay and now Peru in Argentina’s qualifying triple-header this month.
La Albiceleste are second in the South America qualifying table, six points behind leaders Brazil but nine points clear of fifth-placed Uruguay, who are just outside the automatic places for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Douglas Luiz helped Brazil maintain their advantage at the top of the table courtesy of a 4-1 win over Uruguay on Friday morning.
The Villa midfielder stepped off the bench to complete the final 20 minutes of the qualifier in Manaus.
Raphinha grabbed a brace for the Seleção as Neymar and Gabriel Barbosa also hit the net, with Luis Suarez on target for Uruguay’s consolation.
Like Argentina, victory ensures Brazil have collected seven points from their three October fixtures.
