Brazil vs. Uruguay: Winners and Losers from World Cup Qualifier
Luis Suarez scored on his international return as Uruguay erased a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Brazil on Friday night in South American qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Brazil claimed a 2-0 lead midway through the first half thanks to goals from Douglas Costa and Renato Augusto, but Uruguay pulled a goal back through Edinson Cavani before halftime. Suarez then notched the equalizer two minutes into the second half.
With the result, Uruguay stayed in second place in the CONMEBOL standings with 10 points through five games. Brazil are third, two points behind.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Luis Suarez
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Welcome back, Luis. It had been a while.
For those who were counting, it had been 640 days since Luis Suarez had represented Uruguay. After biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the striker drew a ban that kept him out of his nation's last nine competitive matches.
On his return, he looked sharp and scored an important goal. Collecting a pass from Alvaro Pereira on the left, Suarez fired a low shot into the net off Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker for the tying goal. The strike completed a comeback from 2-0 behind and earned Uruguay a precious point on the road in Brazil.
In addition to taking headlines for his goal, Suarez served as captain for his side on the night. All in all, it was a performance of which he can be proud.
Loser: David Luiz
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Suarez took his goal well, but David Luiz really should have done better. The Brazilian defender's positioning was poor on the play, and that gave Suarez all the time and space he needed to convert the opportunity.
Besides that miscue, Luiz also gave up a dangerous free kick in the 82nd minute after fouling Cristhian Stuani (Luiz was also booked on the play). Five minutes later he gifted Suarez a glorious chance with a suicidal backwards header in his own half.
The mistake nearly led to a winner for Uruguay, but Alisson made a good save to deny Suarez a second strike of the evening.
Winner: Willian
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Brazil needed very little time to break the deadlock. Within 40 seconds of the opening whistle, the hosts were ahead.
Starting from kickoff, the Selecao never surrendered possession over the course of one long, sweeping team move. Dani Alves lofted a long pass down the right for Willian, who danced past a defender with excellent skill before curling a cross into the danger area.
Douglas Costa applied the final touch to give Brazil a quick 1-0 lead, apparently setting the Selecao on course for victory. It didn't turn out that way, but Willian's contribution on the play was outstanding nonetheless.
"Brilliant turn by Willian, perfect cross for Costa to turn in at the back post," tweeted Rik Sharma.
"Neymar, Willian, Douglas Costa. The trio which might just drag Brazil kicking and screaming to their rightful place in football," added Daniel Edwards.
Loser: Dunga
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Through 26 minutes, everything was going right for Brazil. Dunga's players were attacking with style and doing just enough defensively to keep Uruguay at bay.
After that, however, things went sour. Uruguay scored either side of halftime and ran out of the Arena Pernambuco with a deserved draw.
So then, how did Brazil get here? A two-goal lead should have been comfortable enough, but the defending was poor and Uruguay could have even scored a late winner. As qualifying continues, Dunga will have to sort out his back line, starting with Tuesday's trip to Paraguay.
Winner: Alisson Becker (and Fernando Muslera)
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Yes, both goalkeepers allowed two goals. But both also made good saves in the closing moments to preserve a draw.
That said, Brazil's Alisson Becker made the better stop and is therefore a winner here.
Fernando Muslera's save came in the 86th minute, when substitute Philippe Coutinho lined up a dipping shot from long range. The ball appeared to be headed for the bottom corner, but Muslera dived to tip it around the post.
It was Alisson's turn just a minute later as David Luiz's ill-advised defensive header gifted Suarez a glorious chance. The Barcelona man shot low toward the far corner, but Alisson stuck out a leg to make an eye-catching save.
Without Alisson's heroics, Brazil surely would have lost.
