Peru 2-4 Brazil: 5 talking points as Neymar hat-trick inspires Selecao to a come-from-behind win| 2022 World Cup Qualifiers

#3 Brazil's defensive frailties came to the fore

There were times when Brazil lacked defensive composure against Peru.

After putting five unanswered goals past Bolivia, arguably the weakest side in South America, last week, the Selecao were up against a better side in Peru. Brazil conceded twice that almost led to a stalemate in Lima before the hosts suffered an epic meltdown.

Although neither of Bolivia's goals were well-worked per se - the first was down to a moment of individual brilliance from Andre Carrillo whereas the second came via a Marquinhos deflection - as the visitors looked uncharacteristically unsettled at the back.

Jefferson Farfan's clever movements troubled Marquinhos all night as the latter's poor clearance led to the opening goal of the game. Andre Carrillo and Christofer Gonzales also managed to stretch the Brazil defence with their marauding runs.

Against another side, Brazil would've conceded more as their defenders lacked the pace to contain opposition players on the break, something that could come back to hurt the 5-time world champions against teams like Uruguay and Colombia.

Half Time: Brazil 1 Peru 1- Penalty scored by Neymar.- Peru scored a golaço. - Firmino missed two big opportunities. - Let’s hope for better in the second half. pic.twitter.com/qpLyXrvP64

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) October 14, 2020

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#4 Long VAR checks delayed the game

This was another reminder of the poor refereeing standards in South America.

South American games are notorious for abysmally-low officiating standards, and the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee has thrown up a new problem - painstakingly long review processes.

The match official consulted the pitchside monitor as well as those in the operation room a couple of times in the second half but took an unusually long time to make a decision on almost every occasion.

That not only led to plenty of disruption in the match but also unleashed chaos on the field as players swarmed around the referee and hounded him, and those on the bench signalled at their watches.

For the Richarlison goal, the referee appeared to take a good five minutes to conclude that it was a legitimate goal while he took another three minutes or so for Brazil's second penalty, all of which was really frustrating to watch.

The match referees in the CONMEBOL zone really need some practice with the VAR as this wasn't the first time we witnessed something like this. And the sooner they do it, the better the games will be.

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#5 Andre Carrillo delivered another spectacular goal

Andre Carrillo scored again for Peru.

In the first round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Andre Carrillo helped Peru rescue a point against Paraguay by scoring a brace, one of which was a stunning volley. The player was at it again against Brazil as he found the back of the net with another spectacular effort.

After Yoshimar Yotun's through-ball near the Brazil box came off Marquinhos, the Al Hilal FC striker latched on to the loose ball with an emphatic first-touch to volley home the opener for the Blanquirroja.

🇵🇪 Peru 1-0 Brazil 🇧🇷Andre Carrillo does it again! pic.twitter.com/GlMzFmj0gS

— Simon Edwards (@SimonEdwardsSAF) October 14, 2020

It may not have proved decisive eventually, but the 29-year-old displayed his deadly finishing skills as he took his tally of goals during the ongoing qualifiers to three, the same as that of Luis Suarez and Neymar.

It's still early days in the World Cup qualifiers in South America, but based on what we have seen so far, Carrillo could prove to be instrumental to Peru's fortunes if he's able to maintain his hot form going forward.