Brazil top Uruguay in spirited friendly

London: Brazil defeated Uruguay 1-0 in a friendly match decided by a debatable penalty converted by Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar.

Though the contest was an away match for both teams on Friday night, the Brazilians enjoyed something like a home field advantage with the many Brazil and Neymar fans among the crowd at London’s Emirates Stadium.

Neymar’s every touch brought cheers from the stands, where the ambience was considerably more lively than the action on the pitch on a cold, rainy night.

The tenor of play belied the “friendly” nature of the contest between the bitter South American rivals, which was reflected in the eight yellow cards handed out by referee Craig Pawson.

Six of those yellows went to Uruguayan players for fouls on Neymar.

Uruguay’s only serious threats came from Luis Suarez, who forced a pair of saves from Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson.

Despite missing several starting defenders, Uruguay held Brazil at bay until the 76th minute, when Pawson awarded a penalty after Diego Laxalt brushed Danilo in the area and the Manchester City player went down.

Neymar stepped to the spot and fooled Uruguay keeper Martin Campana to put his team up 1-0. IANS

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