Brazil recorded their eighth consecutive win on Sunday as a second-half strike from substitute Roberto Firmino was enough to see-off the plucky challenge of Chile at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
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Dunga’s side were nowhere near their flamboyant best, but they did well to stand up to what was a very aggressive Chilean outfit.
Here’s how the boys from Brazil rated…
GK: Jefferson – 6/10
The Botafogo stopper had very little to do with his hands. He impressed with his feet, though, when he daringly dribbled past Alexis Sanchez early in the first half.
RB: Danilo – 6/10
Brazil are famous for their attacking full-backs and, although Danilo offered little going forward for much of the match, it was his excellent through-pass which unlocked Chile’s defence to set up Firmino for the all-important goal.
CB: Miranda – 6.5/10
The Atletico Madrid man out-performed skipper Thiago Silva, who albeit was far from at his best today. Miranda maintained a dominating physical presence throughout and produced an excellent tackle midway through the first half to deny Alexis Sanchez a clear opportunity to score. However, his performance level dropped after the break. He was caught sleeping by Alexis in the second period and could easily have been sent off for dragging the Arsenal star to ground. However, the presence of Marcelo covering saw him escape with just yellow.
CB: Thiago Silva – 5.5/10
The PSG centre-half seemed too relaxed. His chilled-out attitude saw him embarrassed by Alexis on a couple of occasions, although his errors ultimately did not cost Brazil. Silva was shown a yellow card on 19 minutes for a needless shove on Pablo Hernandez.
LB: Marcelo – 5.5/10
A mixed bag. Coasted through the game, coming up with some lovely touches, as well as some pretty shoddy passes. Came off for Filipe Luiz on 77 minutes, and the Chelsea left-back made Brazil look instantly more secure.
CM: Souza – 7/10
Didn’t get a very big cheer during the pre-match roll call, but, despite being somewhat ignored by Brazil fans, who had turned up to see some of their nation’s higher-profile players, Souza produced a solid 61-minute performance. He gave Arturo Vidal as good as he got in a tasty midfield battle, before being replaced by Elias.
CM: Fernandinho – 7/10
The Manchester City midfielder loves a tussle, so this fiery fixture was right up his street. Fernandinho won some fearsome tackles and was efficient in possession.
AM: Coutinho – 5/10
Deserved his rare start due to his fine recent form for Liverpool, but, unfortunately, Coutinho did not deliver for his country today. He looked startled by the occasion and was hooked to make way for Robinho on 61 minutes, having hardly been involved in the contest.
AM: Douglas Costa – 6/10
Gave Eugenio Mena a torrid afternoon, speeding past the Chilean defender to reach the byeline on countless occasions. Unfortunately, his final delivery let him down. Costa’s crossing was below-par, while his best chance to score himself saw the Shakhtar Donetsk star shank a volley high and wide. Willian replaced Costa on 63 minutes and was a slight improvement.
ST: Neymar – 7/10
Neymar may have been expecting this game to flow like a typical friendly. However, within moments of kick-off, he discovered that this was not the case. The Barcelona forward was clearly targeted by the Chilean players, who tackled hard and left him on his backside whenever possible. Fearful that he could lose grip on the match, referee Martin Atkinson had to issue the game’s first yellow card after just 11 minutes, when Miiko Albornoz crunched in on Brazil’s number 10. That did not stop the assault, though, and Neymar continued to take the knock-downs for the full 90 minutes. Despite the relentless pressure, he attacked with brave trickery for the entire game. However, his afternoon could have ended in disgrace before half time, as he kicked out at Gary Medel, after the former Cardiff midfielder had stamped on his leg.
ST: Luiz Adriano – 5.5/10
His scoring record for Shakhtar is exceptionally good, but he never looked likely to bag his first senior international goal in a sluggish 61-minute outing. Brazil improved as soon as Firmino replaced him.
Subs:
Elias – 5.5/10
Robinho – 6/10
Roberto Firmino – 8/10
Willian – 6.5
Filipe Luis – 6/10