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Brazil dispatched Peru 4-0 in their second fixture of Copa America 2021, as a late flurry of goals gave them a comfortable victory at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Both sides enjoyed decent spells of possession over the course of the 90 minutes, but Brazil made their opponents pay with a rampant spell to finish the game.
Alex Sandro broke the deadlock with a close-range finish in the first half, as Brazil started the game strongly. Both sides had a few shots on goal, but there was just one goal scored in the first 45 minutes of the game.
Brazil started the second half the stronger of the two sides and doubled their lead through Neymar, whose driven effort from the edge of the penalty area found the bottom corner of the net. The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored his 68th goal for Brazil in the Copa America 2021 fixture and is just 10 goals shy of surpassing Pele's goal tally for the Selecao.
Late goals from Everton Ribeiro and Richarlison added gloss to the result, as Brazil made it successive Copa America 2021 victories to go top of Group A.
Copa America 2021: Neymar edges closer to Pele's record in Brazil's statement victory
Neymar scored yet again for Brazil in Copa America 2021 and is likely to surpass Pele's goal tally in the months ahead. Speaking after the game, an emotional Neymar expressed his delight after edging closer to the three-time World Cup winner's goal haul.
“It is obvious for me that this is a great honor, to be a part of Brazil history. To be very honest, my dream was to play for Brazil, wear this shirt. I never imagined I would get to these numbers."
“It is very emotional to me because I went through a lot of things over these last two years, difficult and complicated things. These numbers are nothing compared to the happiness I have playing for Brazil.”
In response to Neymar's comments, Pele sent out a heartfelt message to the 29-year-old on Instagram.
"I, like all Brazilians, am always happy when I see him play ball. Today he gave another step toward my record of goals for the Selecao. And I am cheering for him to get there, with the same joy I have since I saw him play for the first time.”
Brazil have looked good in Copa America 2021 so far and will look to consolidate their position in Group A in the games ahead.
