BRAZIL enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory over Venezuela in Brasilia to get their Copa America campaign off to a bright start.
Marquinhos opened the scoring in the first half and Neymar doubled the Selecao’s lead from the penalty spot before setting Gabriel Barbosa up for the third in the final minutes of the match.
THAT’S ALL FROM BRASILIA
Brazil’s Copa America campaign kicked off on the right foot with a decisive 3-0 victory over Venezuela at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia.
The Selecao dominated throughout the entire match against a depleted Vinotinto side, who were missing a raft of key players that tested positive for coronavirus before the tournament began.
The Copa America hosts opened the scoring after 23 minutes when a corner-kick from Neymar reached Marquinhos inside the box and the Paris Saint-Germain star beat Joel Graterol with a clinical shot.
Tite’s men came close to a second soon after when Richarlison tapped the ball behind the net, following a cross from the left flank, but the Everton star was caught offside.
Venezuela were unable to react to Brazil’s opener and sealed their fate on 64 minutes when Yohan Cumana brought Danilo down inside the box.
The referee pointed at the penalty spot and Neymar beat Graterol with one of his signature spot-kicks.
Tite’s side scored a third in the 89th minute when Venezuela’s defence let a ball through for Neymar down the left flank.
The PSG superstar then dribbled past Graterol, who came off his area too soon, and set Gabriel Barbosa up in front of open goal.
Venezuela manager Jose Peseiro entered this match with a series of problems as his team was heavily hit by a COVID-19 outbreak a day before the Copa America opener against Brazil.
Eight players and four coaches tested positive for coronavirus shortly after arriving in Brasilia.
South American football confederation CONMEBOL later added that a 13th member of the Venezuelan team followed.
Thus, Peseiro brought in 15 new players to join the squad for the tournament.
All those who tested positive are isolating in their hotels, along with those they came in contact with, and will only be able to leave Brazil after testing negative
Credit: Rex UPDATED TABLE
Brazil are now top of Group A following their 3-0 win over Venezuela, who are bottom of the table.
However, it is still early days as Colombia and Ecuador play later tonight.
Peru, on the other hand, are set to meet the Selecao on Friday.
Check out the table below for more:
STATS
Brazil dominated throughout the match and held on to 62 per cent of possession.
The Selecao registered a total of 18 shots, seven of which were on target.
Venezuela, on the other hand, produced only three shots, one of which was on target.
Jose Peseiro’s men gave away nine corners and that is how Tite’s side tended to create most of their opportunities
FT: BRAZIL 3-0 VENEZUELA
Brazil’s Copa America campaign kicked off on the right foot with a decisive victory over Venezuela at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia.
The Selecao dominated throughout the entire match and opened the scoring after 23 minutes when a corner-kick from Neymar reached Marquinhos inside the box and the defender beat Joel Graterol with a clinical shot.
Tite’s men came close to a second soon after when Richarlison tapped the ball behind the net, following a cross from the left flank, but was caught offside.
Neymar already sealed the win for Brazil on 64 minutes with a composed penalty kick as Venezuela weren’t showing anything substantial on the pitch.
Tite’s men scored a third in the 89th minute when the Paris Saint-Germain star took advantage of some poor defending and goalkeeping from Graterol, who came off his area too soon, as he set Gabi Barbosa up in front of open goal and the striker didn’t miss
Credit: Getty PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
AND THAT’S FULL-TIME IN BRASILIA!!!!!!
BRAZIL 3-0 VENEZUELA
90+2 SUBSTITUTION
Venezuela manager Peseiro makes one final switch as Hernandez replaces Gonzalez
BRAZIL 3-0 VENEZUELA
90 Three more minutes of added time to go until full-time.
Both teams will just let the minutes go by as there’s nothing left for either of them
BRAZIL 3-0 VENEZUELA
89 Neymar picks up a ball from midfield with ease as Venezuela’s defence just lets it through and dribbles past Graterol who came off his lines too soon.
The PSG star delivers cross towards Barbosa who chests the ball to the back of the net in front of open goal
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!
BRAZIL MAKE IT THREE WITH BARBOSA!!!!!
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
87 Brazil ace Ribeiro gets lucky there as he avoids a yellow card.
The Brazilian stepped on Moreno’s foot but the referee didn’t book him
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
86 SUBSTITUTION
Brazil manager Tite makes some more tweaks as Vinicius and Fabinho replace Jesus and Fred respectively
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
84 SUBSTITUTION
Venezuela manager Peseiro introduces Castillo, who replaces Casseres
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
83 WHAT A CHANCE!
Neymar puts together a stunning run at the edge of the box where he switches with Barbosa.
The striker passes it back to the PSG star who fires a shot and gets a deflection right in front of Graterol
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
81 CHANCE
Casemiro fires a shot from a set-piece close to Venezuela’s box but the ball goes straight to Graterol
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
80 YELLOW CARD
Venezuela ace Mago gets booked for what seems to be an accidental elbow on Barbosa?
Quite a strict decision from the ref…
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
77 SUBSTITUTION
As predicted, Venezuela manager Peseiro makes a double change with Celis replacing Manzano and Cordova taking Aristegeuieta’s place
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
75 Brazil’s main source of pace have been Neymar and Jesus so far in the match.
Soon we are going to get some late changes for Venezuela manager Peseiro
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
73 Manchester City star Jesus has put together a very impressive performance.
And that goes down to his discipline as he has been doing exactly what Tite is expecting from him down the right flank.
The forward is adding a lot of pace with his runs and some lethal balls in the box
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
70 Neymar just scored his 65th goal in 104 matches for Brazil.
A very composed and elegant penalty shot by the PSG star
Credit: Reuters BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
69 YELLOW CARD
Venezuela ace Manzano gets booked for a challenge from behind on Barbosa
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
68 Unless Venezuela change something drastically then it is safe to say that Neymar has sealed the win for Brazil.
We are still waiting for a big opportunity for the visitors
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
66 YELLOW CARD
That was quick…
Barbosa gets booked almost immediately since his introduction for a rough challenge on Casseres
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
65 SUBSTITUTION
Brazil manager Tite makes another change as Barbosa replaces Richarlison
BRAZIL 2-0 VENEZUELA
64 Neymar takes his time with this shot and then makes a slow run towards the ball – the usual…
And the PSG star sends the ball to the bottom left corner and Graterol the other side
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!
BRAZIL DOUBLE THEIR LEAD WITH NEYMAR!!!!
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
