Brazil, with 10 men for nearly the entire second half, beat Chile 1-0 on Friday night in a wild Copa America quarterfinal that was closer than expected, getting a goal early in the second half thanks to substitute Lucas Paqueta. After Roberto Firmino struggled in the first half, including missing a great chance at the far post, Brazil coach Tite decided for the Lyon attacker, and he immediately made the decision pay off, combining with Neymar on a lovely winning goal in the first minute he saw on the pitch.
While Brazil were happy to be in the lead and looked well on their way to winning, things got a bit hectic just two minutes later thanks to a horror tackle. Striker Gabriel Jesus was shown a straight red card for this dangerous challenge, kicking an opponent high near the neck:
That opened up the window for Chile to attack with a man advantage, but there was a lack of sharpness in both delivery and shooting, with Brazil not having all that much to worry about.
The game was as close as the scoreline would indicate, with Chile going forward in the second half in search of an equalizer. With the man advantage, the chances simply weren't nearly as good as they would have liked, having one goal correctly called back due to offside, while hitting the crossbar on another effort after a fantastic save by Ederson.
Chile were able to match Brazil chance for chance in terms of shots, but their best look late was a shot that didn't even come within 10 yards of the crossbar, ending any hope of forcing penalty kicks.
The win means Brazil will now face Peru in the semifinals on Monday in what's a rematch of the 2019 Copa America final, which Brazil won.
Final push from Chile. 10 minutes to go, up a man. No reason why they can't get another 2-3 really good looks.
Looks like Ederson did get a tip on that header off the crossbar. Wow.
Chile off the crossbar! It saves Ederson after a header looks to have him beat.
Nearly the nail in the coffin! Neymar beats his defender and gets into the box, but he's stoned by Bravo! Chile still in this!
Chile put the ball in the net on a set piece thanks to a finish from Vargas, but it is called offside. VAR takes a look, and it takes a few minutes, but still declared offside.
Peeps ... look at this...
A horror tackle! Goes cleats to the face when going for the ball and it is a straight red. A clear red. A criminal, scary challenge. Goodness me.
Straight red to Gabriel Jesus!!!!
Nice little combination between Neymar and Paqueta, and a fortunate bounce sees the Lyon man take a touch into space, shield off a defender and fire home!
