Paraguay came from two goals down to claim a a share of the spoils from a late 2-2 draw in their Copa America’s Group B opener against Argentina in La Serena on Saturday.

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Argentina went 2-0 up thanks to first-half goals from Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi but their opponents struck back through Nelson Haedo Valdez and Luca Barrios for a point at Estadio La Portada.

The result leaves Argentina second in the group standings, with Paraguay below them level with one point after Cristian Rodriguez handed leaders Uruguay a 1-0 triumph against Jamaica in the other Group B clash.

Argentina started brightest and controlled the pace of the match in the opening exchanges.

They took the lead on the half-hour mark as Manchester City striker Aguero broke the deadlock as he intercepted a soft pass back from Paraguay’s Miguel Samudio to his goalkeeper Antony Silva and netted his side’s opening goal of the tournament.

Five minutes late, Miguel Samudio brought down Angel Di Maria in the box and Barcelona striker Messi doubled Argentina’s advantage from the penalty spot to hand them a 2-0 lead at the break.

Paraguay forward Valdez finished off a great shot with the Albirroja’s first goal of the match from outside the box to reduce the deficit near the hour mark, while Luca Barrios equalised with a strong volley at the death.

Paulo Da Silva defender believes his country deserved the late draw as he said: “We suffered a lot. During the first half we let them play and that was a mistake.

“We managed to give our best then and we deserve this result.”