Gerard Pique's 68th minute red card ended any fleeting hopes of a comeback from la Roja,
as Brazil's win sparked wild celebrations in the stands and saw Spain
lose by three goals in a competitive game for the first time since 1985.
The fans had the Maracana rocking long before kick-off, and barely
two minutes in, the home side nearly blew the roof off the famous
stadium when they took the lead.
Oscar delivered a ball into the box which Fred, Iker
Casillas, Alvaro Arbeloa and Pique all challenged. A goalmouth scramble
ensued and, despite laying on the turf, the Fluminense man reacted
quickest to poke home.
Fred very nearly set Oscar up for the second within minutes when he
flicked across the box from Neymar’s cross, but Chelsea’s young
playmaker drilled agonisingly wide.
Paulinho then made Casillas work hard to keep the deficit at one with
a cheeky lob after robbing Andres Iniesta, with the Spain keeper
backpedalling to get a hand to the attempt.
Vicente Del Bosque’s side were simply struggling to cope with the
tenacity and energy in Brazil’s play, which was matched every step of
the way by the fervour raining down from the stands And Arbeloa nearly committed a fatal mistake when he flattened Neymar
on the halfway line, but with the fans baying for blood, only a yellow
card was issued to the defender.
Spain finally showed signs of life when Iniesta’s rasping drive
forced Julio Cesar to push around the post, but it was an aberration
amid Brazil’s dominance, and Casillas had to stand tall again to stop
Fred from point blank range.
However, it was then the hosts' turn to live on the edge when an
outrageous goal-line clearance from David Luiz denied Pedro a sure-fire
goal after Mata’s pass put him one-on-one with Cesar.
But with half-time approaching, Brazil would get their deserved
second. Oscar drew the attention of the defence on the edge of the box
and deftly slipped in Neymar, who unleashed an unstoppable shot into the back of the net.
And two minutes after the interval, the hosts struck again. Hulk’s
fantastic diagonal ball was cleverly dunied by Neymar, leaving Fred to finish coolly into the bottom corner.
Spain were handed a glimmer of hope with a penalty after Marcelo
clumsily challenged substitute Jesus Navas, but Ramos extinguished that
optimism almost instantly with a wild spot-kick that flew wide.
And they were finished for good when Pique stuck out a leg in vain to
bring down the onrushing Neymar, earning the Barcelona defender a
straight red card as the last man.
It was party time inside the Maracana, with the irrepressible Neymar
driving past defenders with ease, and substitute Jo coming close to a
fourth with a powerful strike that was saved by Casillas.
Spain had a few chances to restore a little pride, but Pedro was
denied excellently from close range by Cesar, who did equally well to
push away a curling Villa effort with only minutes remaining.
