Lautaro Martinez moved level with Diego Maradona in Argentina's scoring charts as the World Cup winners beat Peru 1-0.
Martinez’s 32nd goal for his country settled the qualifier in Buenos Aires and strengthened their position at the top of the South American standings.
The goal moves him joint fifth in his country's all-time scorers; Lionel Messi leads by a distance with 112 goals, followed by Gabriel Batistuta (56), Sergio Aguero (41), and Hernan Crespo (35).
Having lost in Paraguay on Friday, Argentina had much the better of the contest against a Peru side which has won just once in qualification.
Full-back Gonzalo Montiel was unable to steer the ball home after sneaking behind the visiting defence, while Julian Alvarez hit the post as they struggled to convert their superiority into goals.
Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister also went close, steering his header wide.
World Cup winning captain Messi had a quiet game, but played a pivotal role in the goal 10 minutes into the second half.
He threaded a cross into a crowded box and Martinez found the back of the net to give Argentina a lead Peru rarely threatened to erase.
Meanwhile, Brazil faced boos from their fans as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Uruguay in their latest World Cup qualifier.
The result leaves both teams well placed to secure one of the six automatic places on offer in South America, but home fans in Salvador aired their frustration at the end of the 90 minutes.
A match of few chances was settled by two moments of quality in the second half.
Brazil struggled to clear their lines 10 minutes into the second half, Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde making them pay as he curled in a shot from the edge of the box.
The hosts, who have recovered slightly from a slow start to qualification, were behind for only six minutes.
Gerson grabbed his first goal for his country with another spectacular strike from outside the box.
The draw leaves Brazil in fifth place in the group – two points behind second-placed Uruguay and five ahead of Bolivia, who sit in seventh spot which will be good enough for a playoff berth.
Argentina are top by five points, while Ecuador survived losing Piero Hincapie to a first-half red card to move above Brazil into third with a 1-0 in Colombia, who drop to fourth.
