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MOTD- Italy 2-4 Brazil

By on June 22, 2013

Neymar has once again grabbed the headlines as he scored a fantastic free-kick to help give Brazil a vital win over Italy, meaning the Selecao will probably avoid meeting Spain in the Confederations Cup semifinals. Luiz Scolari’s side looked positive for much of the match in Salvador, meaning they will almost surely meet either Italy or the Azzuri’s probable opponents Spain in the final of the 2014 World Cup preparation tournament.

Brazil’s good performance began right at kick-off, with the hosts of the tournament nearly taking the lead seconds into the match. Hulk hulked down the left of goal before pounding a low shot across goal, which Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon expertly palmed away. Although still looking strong in the early minutes, Brazil began to loose their momentum, with the both sides falling into a small slump. Among the misplaced passes and wayward shots Neymar game close to opening the scoring when Oscar brilliantly found the Barca-bound forward on the left with a cheeky flick. But Neymar dragged his shot wide, shortly before players began falling like pins. Riccardo Montolivo was forced to exit the match due to injury in the twenty-sixth minute, before Ignazio Abate seemingly dislocated his shoulder and was replaced by Christian Maggio. David Luiz then was substituted out for Dante because of a dead led, with the Chelsea man’s replacement giving Brazil the lead just before halftime.

Neymar’s free-kick from the left met the head of Fred, who had his header palmed away by Buffon, but the ball fell to Dante, who guided a low shot into the bottom corner of the net from a tight angle on the right.

Although Brazil continued to look strong as the match progressed into the second half, Italy found an equalizer shorty after the break. A Buffon goal-kick found it’s way to Mario Balotelli, and the AC Mila forward stunning performed a backheeled-flick into the path of Emanuele Giaccherini. Gianccherini stormed towards goal from the right before slamming a brilliant knee-high dipping shot into the far side of the net.

The Azzuri’s lead was very short lived though, and Brazil scored their second in the fifty-fifth minute though, what a surprise, Neymar. The twenty-one-year-old stepped up to take a free-kick from the edge of the box, and beautifully curled the ball around the wall into the corner of the net, leaving Buffon wrong-footed. Fred then made it three when Marcelo’s long ball found the forward on the edge of the Italy box, and Fred muscled away Giorgio Chiellini before thrashing a powerful shot into the back of the net from six yards.

Italy then surprisingly grabbed one back during mayhem in the seventy-first minute. Brazil failed to deal with a corner as it tumbled along in the box, and Aquilani laid it off to Chiellini, and the defender hit a soft low shot into the bottom corner of the net just as referee Ravshan Irmatov blew his whistle for a penalty. But as the referee watched the ball roll in he changed the direction of his hand, signaling a goal, and allowing the goal. Although needing two goals to top Group B ahead of Brazil, Italy looked like they could bag two, with Giaccherini’s corner meeting the unmarked head of Maggio six yards out from goal, and the right-back’s thumping header slammed back out off the Brazil crossbar in the eightieth minute. Despite looking slightly shaky defense wise Brazil made the game safe in the last minute of normal time, when substitute Bernard skipped down the left. The twenty-year-old cut it back to Marcelo, who powered a low shot on goal from fifteen yards, which Buffon horribly palmed straight into the path of Fred, who tapped home his second on the night. Moments later the referee blew for full time, with Brazil sealing the 4-2 win.
Man of the Match: Neymar

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.