Colombian players protest to referee Nestor Pitana after Roberto Firmino's controversial goal during Brazil vs Colombia game on Thursday morning.
Brazil made a strong claim for the Copa America on Thursday morning when the side scored two late goals to rally to win against Colombia, who took the lead early in the match through Luis Diaz's spectacular goal in Sao Paulo. The victory for Brazil came as late as the 90+10 minute in the injury time as Casemiro head home the winner from a corner.
However, it was Brazil's equaliser through Roberto Firmino which made headlines on the night and left Colombians fuming as the referee played a direct role in the group as Brazil's goal on the counter actually hit the referee before the last two touches that led to the goal.
Colombia, who started defending with all their might after taking the lead against a Brazil team that barely stopped surrounding their penalty box. It appeared as if Colombia would be able to hold out, until Argentine referee Nestor Pitana's knee came into play.
Pitana accidentally blocked a pass by Neymar about 10 meters in front of the Colombian area in the 78th minute. Colombian defenders momentarily stopped, but Brazil substitute Lucas Paquetá just moved the ball to left-back Renan Lodi and his cross found Roberto Firmino, whose angled header beat Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina.
The Colombians initially refused to restart the match but Pitana, the referee of the 2018 World Cup final, confirmed Brazil's goal.
Brazil kept pressuring in the final minutes and found its reward in added time. Neymar took a corner and Casemiro netted the winner.
“They came at us once and then stopped,” Casemiro said after the match. “It was our attack against their defense. Colombia is a strong team but, as the coach requires, we are very strong mentally.”
Earlier Tuesday, Ecuador and Peru drew 2-2 at the Olimpico stadium in Goiânia. The Ecuadorians opened the scoring with an own goal by Renato Tapia in the 23rd and got their second via Ayrton Preciado in the first-half stoppage time.
Peru pulled level in the second half with goals by Gianluca Lapadula in the 49th and André Carrillo in the 54th. Both teams retained their chances of advancing to the knockout stage.
Brazil leads the group with nine points after three matches. Colombia has four from four matches. Peru also totals four points followed by Ecuador (3) and Venezuela(2). The top four teams advance to the playoff stage.
Brazil will play its last group stage match on Sunday against Ecuador.
(With inputs from AP).
