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Brazil strolled to a 5-0 thrashing of Peru in their Group A encounter to seal a spot in the quarter-finals. Tite reigned in two changes from the 0-0 draw against Venezuela as Everton and Gabriel Jesus were slotted in for Richarlison and David Neres.
It was a field day for the Selecao with goals galore from all areas of the pitch as Casemiro, Roberto Firmino, Everton, Dani Alves, and Willian got on the scoresheet.
After a stuttering start by Tite’s men, Casemiro drew first blood in the 12th minute. The hosts doubled their lead as Firmino capitalized on a horror clearance from Pedro Gallese to open his account in the tournament.
Gremio’s Everton decided proceedings with a drilled long-range finish that saw Gallese botch a savable near post attempt.
The Brazilians piled on the misery as a slick passing move between Arthur, Alves and Firmino ended with the skipper thumping the ball into the roof of the net.
Willian came off the bench to dispatch a thunderous strike from outside the box as Brazil ran out 5-0 victors.
The relentless Jesus had a golden opportunity from 12 yards out to bag a goal in the dying embers of the tie. However, he squandered his penalty and this was yet another instance of the Manchester City frontman’s lack of success in front of goal in this past campaign.
All in all, Brazil never had to get out of second gear to win in empathic fashion and with yet another clean sheet and 10 goals in 3 matches under the belt, Tite will take plenty of positives from the group stages.
#1 Everton emerges as Brazil’s X-factor once again
Talk about grabbing your opportunities by the scruff of the neck and no one springs more to mind than Everton. The 23-year old showed a glimpse of his terrific talent through an absolute scorcher against Bolivia in a captivating cameo.
However, he took this a step further by starting on the left side and making a mockery of opposing full-back, Luis Advincula throughout the contest. The Gremio winger left him for dead on a lot of occasions with his bag of tricks and pace to burn.
In the 32nd minute, his threat was converted into an end product as he struck a low-driven strike past Gallese, who made a meal of the attempt.
Everton’s directness and supreme technical abilities on show are what justify his tag of being the find of the tournament for Brazil.
Tite has a good headache on his hands on whether to reward Everton’s excellent form or stick to the more established David Neres in the quarter-finals.
#2 Firmino shines in No.9 audition for the Samba Boys
After a slightly underwhelming personal season for Firmino, the Copa America 2019 has emerged as a breath of fresh air for the Liverpool forward to step up and be counted. Firmino’s display against Bolivia in the opener was quiet, to say the least, however, his exquisite assist for Philippe Coutinho’s second goal was the moment of magic he was looking for to reignite his form.
The former Hoffenheim man did just that as he put Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy into practice by forcing an error out of the man in between the sticks. Gallese’s cavalier clearance was nothing short of appalling as it struck Firmino who dribbled past him with ease and tapped in a typical no-look finish.
Firmino turned creator in the 53rd minute as he threaded through an inch-perfect assist for Alves to further extend Brazil’s lead.
The multi-functional Firmino was extremely efficient on the ball, avoiding any elaborate skills and proved to be decisive in the final third when it mattered.
#3 Brazil put the game to bed early
Within 32 minutes of the tie that was initially considered a banana peel for Brazil, Tite’s men could manage to put their feet up, being 3 goals to the good.
The Samba Boys were at their clinical best as they scored out of half-chances and capitalized. None of the opportunities were clear-cut in the first 45 and Brazil’s desire combined with their no-nonsense attacking approach is what ultimately decided the tide of the tie.
Despite Brazil’s reputation of playing teams off the park to win games, it was their ruthlessness in front of goal which ensured that they did not have to bust a gut to claim the all-important victory.
