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PERU DOWN COLOMBIA!

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Colombia took on Peru in a group A match of Copa America 2021. A James Rodriguez-less Colombia who sat 2nd in the group ahead of 3rd place Peru, this match was pivotal to decide the final standings of the group before the start of the knockout stages.

Peru opened the scoring in the 17th minute after a shot from outside the box rebounded off the post and fell to Sergio Pena Flores who thundered a shot past Ospina in the Colombia goal.

Despite dominating possession Colombia really struggled to put a dangerous attack together in the first half as the Peru keeper was relatively untroubled.

Colombia came out for the second half to prove a point. They were awarded a penalty very early on in the second half. It was tucked away by Miguel Borja in the  53rd minute.

But Peru’s lead was restored 11 minutes later as Yerry Mina deflected the ball into his own net as he failed to deal with a simple corner.

 

The game ended 2-1 in Peru’s favour and deservedly so.

 

FootTheBall analyses the match and breaks it down in 3 major takeaways for you.

 

DISAPPOINTING COLOMBIA 

 

Peru frustrated Colombia in the first half much like they did Brazil, but a second half onslaught in that game made the difference for Brazil.

 

But Colombia was really disappointing. Their play seemed uninspired and slow. Despite some phenomenal players from Serie A in Zapata and Cuadrado, Colombia seemed sluggish on the ball. Their attacking play really lacked an edge. Their obvious star power could not make the difference for them against Peru.

The absence of James Rodriguez also was never more apparent as Edwin Cardonna, the man who inherited Rodriguez’s no. 10 jersey for los cafeteros , really failed to stamp his authority on the game.

Colombia looked bereft of ideas in attack as Peru looked to shut them out. They looked especially lackluster in the first half .Although not much changed in the second half Colombia’s attacking play did become slightly more fluid.

 

Even after the likes of Muriel and Morelos came on, Colombia’s attacking struggles continued.

 

Colombia’s star players are really struggling to emulate their club for their nations at Copa America 2021.

 

PERUVIAN RESILIENCE

 

Peru showed a lot of character in this match against Colombia. Despite having the relatively unknown players Peru played like a proper team. They worked really hard out of possession to negate Colombia and their desire to score was apparent.

This desire of the Peruvian players was arguably the difference between the two nations as after the equalizer they were determined to secure the win. They constantly threw men forward to make the most of their set pieces and so they did. It was a historic night for Peru as they secured an unlikely win against Colombia.

RENATO TAPIA AND CHRISTIAN CUEVA WERE THE STARS ON THE NIGHT

 

Colombia had the more star players but Peru were lucky that their stars were performing at their peak on the night.

 

Renato Tapia and Christian Cueva were everywhere on the pitch for Peru. They were excellent at breaking up play and springing counters which they kept doing constantly.

Tapia and Cueva really frustrated the Colombians as they seemed to get more and more demoralized as the game went on.

 

Tapia especially put in a man of the match performance showing everyone why he is star for his club side Celta Vigo in La Liga.

 

 

 

Vidur Arora
A Swansea City fan, who fell in love with the game watching Joe Allen play. Usually found in the wild with headphones in his ears and bobbing his head. Love his art too.

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