Brazil withstood Gabriel Jesus' expulsion at the start of the second half to beat Chile 1-0 and advance to the Copa America semi-finals, while Arturo Vidal blamed the referee for Chile's loss and described him as a "clown" who "believes he is the star of the show".
Hosts Brazil play Peru, which won on penalties over Paraguay, in the semi-finals at Nelton Santos Stadium on Monday.
#CopaAmerica 🏆
Para ver mil e uma vezes!
Tremendo golaço de Lucas Paquetá para a clasificação do @cbf_futebol
🇧🇷 Brasil 🆚 Chile 🇨🇱 #VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/vIP1BkbadU
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) July 3, 2021
The quarter-final matches will continue on Saturday, with Argentina playing Ecuador and Uruguay against Colombia.
It was an even match, despite the fact that Brazil, which has not lost the last 11 games, took the lead in Group B, and Chile was satisfied with fourth place in Group A, and they drew 1-1 in four of the last six matches.
After the first half without goals, the match came to life immediately after the break, as substitute Lucas Paqueta exchanged the ball with Neymar and then kept it despite the intervention of Gary Medel to hit the goal from close range.
Less than two minutes later, the match took another turn when Gabriel Jesus was sent off, who raised his foot in the face of Eugenio Mina.
😮 Unacceptable and dangerous interference from Jesus, he deserved a red card 🟥# Copa_America # Brazil_Chile pic.twitter.com/6YaSB9txAb
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 3, 2021
Chile forced their opponents back in defense for most of the second half, but the 2015 and 2016 champions failed to equalise.
The crossbar hit a header from Chile's Ben Brierton, who replaced Alexis Sanchez at the start of the second half, and Brazil goalkeeper Ederson saved two chances.
#CopaAmerica 🏆
¡Estuvo cerca!
Gran cabezazo de Ben Brereton que dio en el travesaño
🇧🇷 Brasil 🆚 Chile 🇨🇱 #VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/p00vvmAOgm
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) July 3, 2021
Vidal calls the referee a 'clown'
After the match, Arturo Vidal blamed Argentine referee Patrico Hernan Lusto for Chile's exit from the Copa America against Brazil, describing him as a "clown" who "believes he is the star of the show."
Brazil was ahead with a goal by Lucas Paqueta at the beginning of the second half and Chile went in search of a draw, but their hopes ended against a team that knew how to waste time.
"We feel very sad and we deserved more," Vidal said. "In a match like this we need a fair referee and he doesn't want to be a clown. We lacked a goal. If there is a referee who doesn't make you play and stops the game all the time and thinks he's the star of the show, things become very difficult."
"But we lost against the favorite team that plays at home. At least we'll leave with our heads held high," he added.
#CopaAmerica 🏆
Dançando ao ritmo de Lucas Paquetá 🕺🏼
🇧🇷 Brasil 🆚 Chile 🇨🇱 #VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/Hy0yoJuib1
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) July 3, 2021
Brazilian Neymar, who had another strong performance with the defending champions, said he excused Gabriel Jesus, noting that he misjudged the ball and was not intentional.
"Jesus was unlucky. His eye was on the ball, not the player, and unfortunately he was sent off."
Neymar praised his team's coping with the unusual pressure.
A wonderful exchange between Fred Casemiro and Neymar and the Chilean defense participate in facilitating the mission # CopaAmerica # Brazil_Chile pic.twitter.com/6WNNPhVAyH
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 3, 2021
"Every day that passes we face tests that make us stronger and prove that we can play in all conditions. Chile is a good team with great players and it is difficult to play with a lack of numbers. Everyone deserves praise, defense, midfield and attack."
"We managed to face something that rarely happens to this team. It was a difficult test for us. We knew we were playing a difficult match, but the important thing is that we won and reached the semi-finals," Neymar said.