Alexis Sanchez follows Lionel Messi out of Copa America as Peru stun champions Chile to reach final

Goals from Edison Flores, Yoshimar Yotun and Paolo Guerrero hand Peru win which sends them into final against Brazil

Peru's players celebrate their victory during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazi. EPA

Peru's Christian Cuevas celebrates the victory during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's players celebrate their victory during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru, at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's Pedro Gallese try to stop a penalty during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's Carlos Zambrano (R) comforts Chile's Eduardo Vargas during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru, at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's players celebrate their victory during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's Pedro Gallese (L) stops a penalty during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's players celebrate their victory during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru, at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazi. EPA

Edison Flores of Peru socres a goal against Chile during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru, at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazi. EPA

Peru's Pedro Gallese (L) stops a penalty during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru, at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's Pedro Gallese (C) stops a penalty during the Copa America 2019 semi-finals soccer match between Chile and Peru, at Arena do Gremio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. EPA

Peru's Luis Abram (L) and Chile's Angelo Sagal vie for the ball during their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on July 3, 2019. / AFP / Carl DE SOUZA

Chile's Arturo Vidal reacts after missing a chance to score against Peru during a Copa America semifinal soccer match at the Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Peru defeated Chile 3-0 and advances to the final with Brazil. AP

Peru's Paolo Guerrero eludes Chile's goalkeeper Gabriel Arias to score the team's thrid goal during their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazi. Peru won 3-0. AFP

Chile's Eduardo Vargas and Peru's Christian Cueva vie for the ball during their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Peru's Paolo Guerrero, center, vies for the ball with Chile's Gary Medel, left, and Chile's Erick Pulgar, right, during a Copa America semifinal soccer match at the Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Peru defeated Chile 3-0 and qualified to the final. AP

Chile's coach Colombian Reinaldo Rueda looks on during the Copa America football tournament semi-final match between Peru and Chile at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Peru's coach, Argentine Ricardo Gareca, gives instructions during the Copa America football tournament semi-final match against Chile at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Chile's Charles Aranguiz and Peru's Yoshimar Yotun vie for the ball during their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Chile's Alexis Sanchez (L) and Peru's Luis Advincula vie for the ball during their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Peru's Paolo Guerrero controls the ball over Chile's Gary Medel during their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Chile's Arturo Vidal (L), Gary Medel (R) and Charles Aranguiz return to the field for the second half of their Copa America football tournament semi-final match against Peru at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Fans of Peru celebrate after defeating Chile 3-0 in their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Chile's Arturo Vidal reacts during the Copa America football tournament semi-final match against Peru at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil AFP

Peru's Luis Advincula (L) comforts Chile's Eduardo Vargas at the end of their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Players of Chile leave the field in dejection after losing 3-0 to Peru in their Copa America football tournament semi-final match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil. AFP

Peru stunned defending champions Chile 3-0 to reach the final of the Copa America for the first time in 44 years on Wednesday.

Goals from Edison Flores, Yoshimar Yotun and Paolo Guerrero handed Peru a deserved win which sends them into a final against Brazil at the Maracana Stadium on Sunday.

The stunning upset prevented Chile's golden generation from challenging for a third straight title, following their wins over Argentina in 2015 and 2016.

Instead the finalists from the previous two editions will meet in Saturday's third-place play-off in Sao Paulo.

Little was expected of Peru in the knock-out stages after they ended the group phase with a humbling 5-0 thrashing by Brazil.

But after riding their luck - and being saved by VAR three times - to beat Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-final, they were a completely rejuvenated outfit in Porto Alegre.

Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, the villain of that 5-0 defeat, was again faultless, as he had been in the quarter-final when decisively saving Luis Suarez's shoot-out penalty.

He again saved a penalty and made many other vital stops.

From the start Peru dominated the reigning champions, with Christian Cueva wastefully shooting wide two minutes in after he was teed up in space by his captain Guerrero.

On seven minutes Chile's Charles Aranguiz started and finished a superb passing move involving Alexis Sanchez and Jean Beausejour, by placing a precise shot just past the post.

Flores took advantage of an Erick Pulgar slip in midfield to dart towards goal but he dragged his weak shot woefully wide.

But a minute later he was alone at the back post to lash home left footed from an Andre Carillo flick on from Cueva's cross.

Timely intervention

Striker Guerrero made a timely intervention in his own area to prevent a Sanchez corner from sneaking in at the near post.

Yotun doubled the lead on 38 minutes after punishing Chile goalkeeper Gabriel Arias's rush of blood to the head.

Carillo chased a long ball down the right hand side and beat Arias, who ill-advisedly had charged from his area, to the ball before picking out Yotun on the edge of the 18-yard area.

Faced with four back-tracking defenders, Yotun calmly controlled the ball on his chest and sent a low volley straight down the middle of the empty goal.

Equally importantly was Gallese's one-hand save to tip over a Jose Fuenzalida volley a minute before the break.

A 2-0 half-time lead was the least Peru deserved after an enterprising performance against tentative opponents.

Chile were a lick of paint away from getting back into the match on 51 minutes when Eduardo Vargas's flicked header beat Gallese but agonisingly came back off the post.

Peru should have put the game to bed on a rapier counter-attack on the hour but Guerrero and Cueva passed rather than shooting and Yotun ballooned over from six yards with the goal gaping.

Peru started sitting deeper, inviting Chile to attack and Aranguiz sent a rasping shot whistling past the top corner with Gallese a mere spectator.

Gallese then tipped over a looping volley from Beausejour and 15 minutes from time he stayed big to block a shot from Vargas one-on-one.

He was unbeatable and dived low to his right to palm out a venemous Sanchez effort from 20 yards.

Guerrero put the icing on the cake in injury time after rounding Arias, but Gallese had the last word from the penalty spot.