London - Arabstoday
Ronaldinho and Marcelo scored as ten-man Brazil came from a goal down to defeat Mexico 2-1 in a friendly international on Tuesday. While the South American 2014 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying tournament is being played, hosts Brazil are preparing their team with friendly games and Mexico were their victims at the TSM stadium in Torreon. Things started badly for the five-time world champions as David Luiz sent the ball into the back of his own net in the tenth minute after a Pablo Barrera cross. It was not the best start for Mano Menezes\' Brazil who headed into this match after a 1-0 friendly win over Costa Rica at the weekend. When the first half was about to finish, Dani Alves was shown a second yellow card and sent for an early shower after he pushed Javier Hernandez in the box. The referee blew for a penalty and Andres Guardado was ready to help Mexico widen the gap, but Brazil keeper Jefferson saved the shot from the spot. With an extra man Mexico were expected to aim to consolidate their superiority on the field. However, this plan was undone in the 79th minute when Ronaldinho netted a right-footed free-kick to beat Oswaldo Sanchez. It was Ronaldinho\'s first international goal since October 2007, when A Selecao hammered Ecuador 5-0. Only four minutes later, Marcelo finished a combination with Neymar after a long run on the left side. The match acted as the farewell game for Oswaldo Sanchez on the same day of his 100th appearance for El Tri. It was also the first defeat for Mexico boss Jose Manuel De la Torre at the helm after 14 games without a loss.