Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus was sent off as Brazil held off determined Chile to book a Copa America semi-final showdown with Peru. Lucas Paqueta's second-half strike was enough for the defending champions to advance with a 1-0 win, the substitute making an instant impact when he found a gap in Chile's defence to fire into the back of the net in the 47th minute. Less than two minutes later, however, Brazil were reduced to 10 men when Jesus's reckless kick caught Eugenio Mena in the face and he was shown a straight red card. Brazil forward Neymar said: "Jesus was just bad luck. He had his eye on the ball, not on the man, and unfortunately, he was sent off. "Every day that goes by we have tests to make us stronger, to prove that we can play under all kinds of circumstances. "Chile are a good team, they have great players and it is very difficult with a man less. Everyone deserves praise - the defence, the midfield, the forwards. "We managed to withstand something that rarely happens to this team. It was a big test for us." Eduardo Vargas thought he'd found the equaliser in the 62nd with a close-range shot, but VAR confirmed the offside call was correct. In the 69th, Mena's cross from the left found Ben Brereton, whose looping header had Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson wrong-footed but came off the crossbar. Brazil's best first-half chance came after 20 minutes, when Neymar found Roberto Firmino at Claudio Bravo's far post, but the Liverpool striker couldn't convert. Ederson was soon called on and dived right to save a shot from Vargas after the Chilean striker shook off Thiago Silva. Jesus, played in by Neymar, nearly fired Brazil ahead shortly before halftime but Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo tipped his shot over the bar. With the victory, Brazil set up a rematch of the 2019 final in which they beat Peru 3-1. Peru secured their semi-final ticket earlier, beating Paraguay 4-3 on penalties after playing to a 3-3 draw in regular time in Goiania. The remaining quarter-finals will be played on Saturday, when Argentina take on Ecuador and Uruguay face Colombia.
