Brazil 2-1 Peru: Five Talking Points from the Copa America match
Neymar scored and created the winner as Brazil came from behind to win their 11th consecutive game under Dunga thanks to their 2-1 win over Peru in their opening Copa America game. Christian Cueva opened the scoring inside three minutes after a goalkeeping error, but the Barcelona forward headed home the early equaliser barely two minutes later.
Highlights: Brazil 2-1 Peru
After a frenetic start, the game settled down with both sides creating plenty of problems for the opposing defence. Neymar hit the bar before setting up Douglas Costa in injury time to make it 11 wins out of 11 since their World Cup exit.
Here are the major talking points from the game:
1. Brazil flatter to deceive… again
After conceding 10 goals in their last two World Cup games, Brazil had conceded just twice in 10 games before the start of this match. Dunga’s side are currently ranked fifth in the world and are on an 11-game winning run. Yet you can’t escape the feeling that their win over Peru was yet another unconvincing performance in which they were lucky to escape with all three points.
The boos that greeted a 1-0 win over Honduras prior to this tournament is proof that the fans still demand a lot more from the side. On the evidence of their performance against Peru in which they laboured for long spells before eventually getting the winner, they are right in demanding so.
There is plenty Dunga can improve upon. Starting from having a half-decent keeper between the posts, to selecting his best defenders, who can defend, to creating an attack which doesn’t completely revolve around one player, the 51-year-old still has a long way to go before he is adored as a manager and that will not change unless performances improve.
2. Better late than never
Sometimes in life, things don’t always go according to plan. While some deviations end happily, others don’t. As far as Brazil’s injury problems are concerned, it is the former. If it weren’t for Danilo’s injury, Dani Alves, arguably the side’s most potent threat behind Neymar against Peru, wouldn’t have even been in the squad for this tournament.
If the exclusion of a player fresh from winning a treble with Barcelona seems bizarre, the truth is that Brazil haven’t needed Alves thanks to the form of Danilo. But in his absence, the right back is certainly showing Dunga just why he should’ve been in the squad in the first place. Not only did the 32-year-old create the equaliser for Neymar, but he always provided an outlet on the right flank and gave the side some much-needed width.