Goals from Nicolas Lodeiro, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez helped Uruguay thrash Ecuador in their first game of Copa America 2019.
Uruguay lead from the beginning with Nicolas Lodeiro scoring in the opening 6 minutes of the game. They were further beniffited when Ecuador’s Jose Quinteros was sent off by VAR assistance for an arm in aerial challenge in the 23rd minute.
The red card made life worse for Ecuador, as they struggled defending the continued attacks by Uruguay. Edinson Cavani scored an acrobatic goal in the 33rd minute assisted by Diego Godin taking the lead to 2-0.
Luis Suarez scored a tap-in from a deflected cross from a corner, further extending their lead.
An early mistake by Diego Godin could have costed Uruguay their clean sheet, but goalkeeper Muslera came out on time to steal the ball away from the Ecuador striker.
Uruguay looked to slow down in the second half but sealed the game by a 78th minute own goal by Ecuador defender Arturo Mina.
The result could have been far worse for Ecuador if there were not 2 goals cancelled by VAR assistance due to offside. Uruguay had 16 shot attempts and 62% of the possession, while Ecuador had 2 shot attempts and the rest 38% of the possession.
Edinson Cavani told in a post match interview “We had our chances in the first half and we took them. That allowed us to manage the game. They went down to 10 men and that allowed us to control the match.”
This was Uruguay’s biggest win ever in this tournament since 1967. Uruguay have quite a tough group to play in, with the current Copa America champions Chile and Japan in the group.
Uruguay will face Japan next on Thursday, and Ecuador will play Chile on Friday.