Uruguay 0-2 Brazil: Three talking points

Brazil continued their perfect start to their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying campaign as they registered a comfortable 2-0 win over Uruguay in Montevideo on Tuesday night.

The Selecao opened the scoring through Arthur in the 34th minute and they managed to double their advantage right before the half-time interval through Richarlison.

Uruguay were unable to reduce the deficit over the course of the game and they were not helped by the fact that Edinson Cavani was sent off for a debatable red card offence in the 71st minute.

The victory has ensured that Tite’s side remain top of the table with the perfect record of 12 points, two ahead of Argentina. Uruguay, who have six points on the board, have dropped to fifth behind Paraguay.

Three talking points from the game:

Uruguay go winless against Brazil again: Uruguay have struggled against their South American counterparts over the past few decades and the defeat on Tuesday meant that they went winless for the 11th-straight meeting (three draws and eight losses). They were not helped by the fact that Luis Suarez testing positive for COVID-19, but they still had the best opportunity to beat Brazil, who were also missing key attackers such as Neymar and Philippe Coutinho. Oscar Tabarez’s side failed to muster a single shot on target, but they did rattle the woodwork on two occasions.

Edinson Cavani has dismal outing: Cavani had bagged three goals in five previous meetings against Brazil, but he was unable to add to his tally after being shut out by former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Thiago Silva. To add to the disappointment, he was sent off in the 71st minute for stamping on Richarlison. Initially, the referee awarded a yellow card for the incident, but after a review on the pitch-side monitor, Cavani was given his marching orders with a straight red card. He will be suspended for Uruguay’s next World Cup qualifier against Argentina in March.

Brazil gathering momentum: Shortly after the 2019 Copa America triumph, Brazil went on a poor run of form with three draws and two defeats from five friendly matches. However, they have since gathered momentum with five victories on the bounce while keeping four clean sheets in the process. Against Uruguay, the Selecao were missing several notable faces including Casemiro in the centre of the park, but they were still able to register a comfortable win. They are definitely looking favourites to defend their Copa America crown next summer.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com and 11v11.com