Brazil’s Gabriel Jesus made one goal, scored another and was sent off in the second half as the hosts beat Peru to win the Copa America for the ninth time at the Maracana stadium.The hosts took the lead after 15 minutes thanks to some great skill from Jesus on the wing. The Manchester City forward bamboozled two defenders and crossed for the unmarked Everton to fire home from close range.
Peru pushed forward in the second half and were thrown a lifeline with 20 minutes remaining when Jesus was sent off. He had been felled by Carlos Zambrano a few minutes earlier and when Jesus dealt out his revenge he was shown a second yellow to follow a first-half caution for a bad tackle. He was seen kicking out at the dugout on his way to the changing rooms. But Brazil had the final say when the substitute Richarlison made it 3-1 with a penalty in the final minute of regulation time after Everton was brought down by Carlos Zambrano. Both penalties were delayed for VAR reviews.
It was Brazil’s first major title since they won the Copa America in 2007 and the first for their coach Tite, who took charge of the national team three years ago. The injured Neymar watched the game in the stadium with his son and sat close to the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro. He presented the trophy to Brazil’s captain Dani Alves, who was also named player of the tournament after he picked up the 40th title of his career.
