Copa America 2015: Brazil 2-1 Venezuela - 5 talking points
Brazil will face Paraguay in the quarter-finals of the Copa America after Thiago Silva and Roberto Firmino scored in each half to defeat Venezuela. Silva opened the scoring inside 10 minutes as he volleyed home from a corner taken by Robinho, who started in place of the suspended Neymar.Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession, Carlos Dunga’s side had to wait until the second half for the second goal. Firmino tucked home Willian’s cross to make it 2-0 and although Miku scored in the 84th minute, it was nothing more than a consolation as Venezuela were knocked out of the tournament.Here are 5 the major talking points from the game.
#1 Strange game of football
A night that began with a distinct possibility of Brazil being knocked out of the tournament, ended with the Selecao playing with four central defenders and having to resort to time-wasting tactics after dominating the match, to go through to face Paraguay in the quarter-finals. In between, the football verged on the sublime to the ridiculous.
Despite the absence of Neymar, Brazil created plenty of chances and should have extended their lead by even more before Miku scored what turned out to be a consolation goal. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the match was how Venezuela approached a game from which they only needed a draw to go through.
From sitting deep and attacking on the break in the first half, they pushed plenty forward after the interval and paid the price by conceding what turned out to be the decisive goal early in the second half.