Hosts Brazil were denied thrice by VAR and missed a host of chances to be held to a goalless draw by Venezuela in their second Group A encounter at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova Stadium in Salvador. Philippe Coutinho looked to have hit the winner after Brazil were stopped-short twice in their goal celebrations by the referee. But to the frustrations of both the Selecao fans and the players, Coutinho was caught offside by VAR helping Venezuela escape with a draw. Copa America 2019: Peru Rally to Beat Bolivia 3–1.

But despite a frustrating night and the razing boos aimed at them, Brazil remained on top of Group A with four points after two games. They thrashed Bolivia 3-0 in their opening encounter with Coutinho scoring twice. The game against Venezuela, however, was not as exciting as it seems with VAR providing the three biggest moments from the game. FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019: Brazilian Striker Marta Overtakes Miroslav Klose to Become Top Goal Scorer in World Cup History.

Watch Brazil vs Venezuela Match Highlights Here:

Interestingly, it was with the help of VAR that Brazil scored their first goal of Copa America 2019 when they were handed a penalty against Bolivia for an apparent handball. But VAR took all the fun back with three decisive decisions against Venezuela.

The first half ended with Brazil managing just one shot on target after striker Roberto Firmino was denied a goal in the 38th minute. The Liverpool forward, who was kept quiet by the combination of two Venezuelan centre-backs Yordan Osorio and Mikel Villanueva, eventually seemed to have put his side ahead in the first half but VAR called it otherwise and disallowed the goal for a foul on Villanueva in the build-up to the goal.

Fans greeted the home team with echoes of boos as the players trudged off after the half-time whistle. Richarlison was immediately replaced for Gabriel Jesus in the second half and the Manchester City striker got into the end of things with a curling shot that missed the net by a whisker. A minute later, in the 58th, he found the net with a fierce shot after some lovely one-touch play with Firmino. But as Brazil celebrated the breakthrough goal, Chilean referee Julio Bascunan whistled for an off-side call. Firmino was fraction ahead of everyone else when the ball ricocheted off him

Coutinho, Brazil’s hero in the last match, then managed to find the net with only three minutes remaining. But for a third time, VAR intervened and disallowed the eight-time champions three points and a victory.

Brazil meets Peru in their final Group A game on Saturday with both teams fighting for the top place. Both Brazil and Peru are on four points with one win and a draw. Venezuela with two points and Bolivia with none play in the other game on the same day.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2019 11:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).