Brazil 2-0 Ukraine: Alves & Pato Power Selecao Past Euro 2012 Co-Hosts

Posted Tuesday, October 12, 2010 by Goal.com

Selecao at the double in Derby thanks to a goal in each half.

Brazil 2-0 Ukraine: Alves & Pato Power Selecao Past Euro 2012 Co-Hosts
Dani Alves

The Selecao cruised to a 2-0 victory in Derby despite Ukraine firing some warning shots at the South Americans.

A fine goal from Dani Alves in the first-half and a typically clinical finish from Alexandre Pato was enough for Brazil to keep coach Mano Menezes' 100% record intact.

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk earned his 100th cap to equal the record set by the injured Andriy Shevchenko last Friday, but it was his midfield colleague Aleksandr Aliev who carved out the only chances for a slightly predictable Ukraine side.

Brazil started brightly but the Ukrainians were well organised and when broke down were willing to commit a foul to stop the South Americans.

Dani Alves came closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening five minutes. Tymoshchuk conceded a free-kick outside the box and Alves stepped up with confidence after his stunning set-piece against Iran, however the full-back this time guided his shot just past the top right corner.

Aliev has scored seven times this season from dead-ball situations for Lokomotiv Moscow and forced Victor in the Brazil goal to make an unconventional save from his thirty-yard shot the only time the Eastern Europeans threatened in the first quarter of an hour.

David Luiz had arguably had the best chance of the first-half. A deep corner was headed from one centre-back, Thiago Silva, to the other, but the Benfica star blazed his spinning half-volley over the bar from close range.

Just one minute after it Dani Alves for the second consecutive match who set the Samba Stars dancing. Robinho began the move in midfield and picked out a deep curling cross for the late arriving full-back, who volleyed in off the left post from a tight angle. His shot was helped by a deflection to take it goalwards.

Brazil looked like they were going to all but seal the game just after the half hour mark, when a terrible back pass from Tymoshchuk was quickly pounced upon by Pato. The Milan striker turned his marker inside out before smacking the post, and some how Carlos Eduardo guided the rebound over the vacant goal.

Ukraine thought they have levelled the scores with two minutes remaining in the first-half. Aliev had the ball in the net but Milevsky was penalised for shouldering a defender out of the way to allow the ball to roll into the centre of the box.

Brazil started in upbeat fashion once more at the beginning of the second-half but it was Ukraine who came closest to scoring. A poor pass from substitute Adriano allowed the men in blue to break and when the ball was laid off to the edge of the box, Ruslan Rotan's deflected shot struck the post with Victor beaten.

A second goal for Brazil just after the hour mark however broke Ukraine's fighting spirit. A pin-point low cross from the right by Carlos Eduardo was cleverly controlled by Pato, who turned and blasted his shot through Dikan.

Nilmar almost capped the game with a goal on the break in stoppage time however it remained 2-0 and Brazil continued their winning streak under Menezes.