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Brazil beat Costa Rica 2-0 in their second World Cup encounter at the St. Petersburg Stadium in Moscow on Friday to top Group E. Goals from Philippe Coutinho and Neymar - both of which came in stoppage time - were enough for the Selecao to seal the win after being frustrated by their South American counterparts for 90 minutes.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Costa Rica's strategy - foul Neymar
Every Brazil attack invariably goes through Neymar on the left. One of Tite's strategies for moving the ball forward is to use Marcelo, Philippe Coutinho, and Neymar form triangles out on the left.
But Costa Rica knew that if they stopped Neymar, they could stop Brazil in their tracks. Coutinho does not have the pace to beat defenders and with Costa Rica playing a back-five when they were not in possession, the Barcelona man was kept in check.
Neymar, on the other hand, received more attention from the Costa Rica defenders than he would have liked. Every time he got on the ball - be it near the touchline or when he drifted towards the centre - they looked to stop him in his tracks immediately.
Time and again the PSG forward was fouled and brought down. But Costa Rica were wary enough not to be too reckless and avoided any further punishment from the referee.
The fouls weren't exactly worthy of bookings, but they were calculated risks which were very effective in keeping him on a leash and bringing down the tempo of the game to avoid getting overrun.
#2 Brazil frustrated by organised Costa Rica defence
In the first 45 minutes, Brazil had seven shots on goal. Only one was on target. By who? Marcelo - which was dealt with by Real Madrid teammate Keylor Navas.
Costa Rica were very solid at the back and always tracked back in numbers to deny Brazil any space in the final third.
Despite deploying a 3-4-2-1 formation, wing-backs Cristian Gamboa and Bryan Oviedo were ever ready to sprint back when Costa Rica lost the ball. Gamboa himself was instrumental in keeping Neymar and co in check on the flank, making three tackles in the first half alone.
The 3-4-2-1 became a 5-4-1 when Brazil attacked and Tite's side struggled to make inroads into Costa Rica's box. Gabriel Jesus was well-marked and rarely managed to get a shot off.
Jesus did find the back of the net but Oscar Duarte had timed his step up perfectly to leave the Manchester City forward in an offside position when he received the ball.
Even the second half saw Brazil struggle to break down Costa Rica and it was only in stoppage time that they scored twice to win all three points.
#3 Brazil's onslaught in the second half
At half-time, Brazil coach Tite had seen enough and knew he had to make a change. Out came Willian who had been very ineffective in the first 45 minutes out on the right and in came Douglas Costa.
Compared to Willian (who had been dispossessed three times in the first half), Costa was a man with intent and was able to find space out on the right to ease the creative burden on Neymar on the opposite flank.
With both the right and left sides to deal with on a consistent basis now, Costa Rica's defence was stretched and it allowed Gabriel Jesus to find space in the box. Had his header found the target instead of the crossbar, an early second-half goal could have opened the floodgates.
Even Coutinho, who usually plays on the edge of the box, was able to find space inside the box and it was only some last-ditch defending that stood in the way of Brazil and opening the scoring.
But their main creator was Paulinho. The Barcelona midfielder was a constant threat in the box and his physicality allowed him to win the ball, shield it, and make the final pass three times in the first 15 minutes alone.
#4 Keylor Navas' masterclass must be acknowledged
It is safe to say that between Alisson and Keylor Navas, it was the Costa Rican goalkeeper who was the busier of the two in the second half. While Brazil's goalkeeper stood in his goal swatting flies in the shade of the St. Petersburg Stadium, Navas was sweating in the sun at the other end.
As Brazil swarmed Costa Rica's defence time and again, lining up to take shots on goal, it was Navas that stood firm and thwarted any attempts that sneaked past the defenders.
The Real Madrid man won three Man of the Match awards in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup. There's also a reason why he has won three Champions League titles on the trot too.
Navas dived, got into the right positions to narrow the angle to shoot, punched away dangerous balls, and even took knocks to his body when fighting for the ball.
But he could do nothing about the two goals in stoppage time. With both Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus in the box, the defenders had no bandwidth to deal with Coutinho's quick run into the box and his shot from close range beat Navas to make it 1-0 to the Selecao.
The second was a counter-attack with Navas receiving no support at the back while Costa Rica looked for an equaliser. And Neymar doesn't miss those from such close range.
#5 Brazil finally hit their stride
For 90 minutes, it looked like Brazil were going to struggle to reach the knockout stages. Two draws in two games were not going to do them any good considering the opposition in their group.
The Selecao were the first team to qualify for the World Cup and had wowed the world with their displays after Tite had taken over from a disappointing Dunga. Once he took over, Brazil were a joy to watch and that samba football was on display when the pressure was off them.
If the Switzerland game was a disappointment, the two late, late goals against Costa Rica will only boost Brazil's confidence going into the final game.
Brazil are top of the group for now - at least until Serbia play Switzerland. A favourable result there could see them stay top too.
But Brazil have well and truly arrived. That second half performance only affirmed why the five-time champions are one of the favourites for the tournament.
