The Paris SG striker appeared very fit to guide the selection guide the Brazilian selection in demonstration against Peru (4-0) in the Copa América.
With a very strong Neymar and once again a scorer, Brazil crushed Peru 4-0 on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, signing their second victory in two Copa America matches. In search of their tenth title in the tournament, the Brazilians inflicted a new stinging defeat on Peruvians they had beaten in the final of the last edition, in 2019 (3-1).
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Neymar nine goals off Pelé’s record
Neymar, who has scored in La Seleçao’s last four matches, scored his 68th goal in 107 international matches, nine points off King Pelé’s record. The other goals were scored by Alex Sandro, Everton Ribeiro and Richarlison.
Brazil remain on a nine-game winning streak and haven’t conceded a goal in the last six meetings. The last team to have found the net of the five-time world champions was precisely Peru, defeated 4-2 last October in Lima, during the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
After the 3-0 victory over Venezuela in the opener of this Copa America, Brazilian coach Tite has decided to rotate his squad, with no less than six changes, leaving Marquinhos, Casemiro and Paqueta to rest.
The absence of “Marqui” allowed Thiago Silva to make his return to the central hinge, with the captain’s armband, after his thigh injury in the Champions League final won at the end of May with Chelsea. Fabinho was established in the middle, in an attacking formation, with Everton, Gabriel Jesus and Gabigol alongside Neymar in attack.
Brazil started their game slowly
At the Nilton Santos stadium, Brazil started off on a false pace, but only needed a counter-attack to open the scoring, Alex Sandro catching a volley from Gabriel Jesus (12th). La Seleçao rested on its laurels, letting the Peruvians take the game to their own, and Yotun almost equalized with a flick: goalkeeper Ederson was beaten, but Danilo intervened in extremis to keep the Brazilian cages inviolate (39th ).
Somewhat borrowed in the first half, Brazil showed a better face after the break. The referee whistled an unclear penalty on Neymar (59th), but finally reconsidered his decision after consulting the VAR, while the Paris SG striker was ready to shoot. It was only a postponement for the Brazilian number 10, who scored the second Brazilian goal with a strike between the legs of goalkeeper Gallese (68th). Neymar then played the conductors, being at the start of the actions of the goals of Everton Ribeiro (88th), then Richarlison (90 + 3) at the end of the match.
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