Playing With 10 Men, Bolivia Was Beaten By Paraguay With A Score Of 3-1

Paraguay players celebrate victory over Bolivia (Twitter @copaamerica)

JAKARTA - Paraguay secured three points by defeating ten Bolivian players with a score of 3-1 in their inaugural match in Group B of the 2021 Copa America which took place at the Estadio Olimpico Pedro Ludovico, Monday local time (Tuesday morning Indonesian time).

Bolivia took the lead through a goal scored by Erwin Saavedra in the 10th minute from a penalty kick, according to the official FIFA website, reported by Antara.

🎬 ¡Lo mejor del triunfo de la @Albirroja en su debut en la CONMEBOL #CopaAmérica 2021!

🇵🇾 Paraguay 🆚 Bolivia 🇧🇴#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/SYXkNULWeN

— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) June 15, 2021

The referee awarded a penalty after Paraguay defender Santiago Arzamendia was deemed to have had handball while trying to block a shot.

Paraguay also got a penalty in the 18th minute after Bolivia goalkeeper Ruben Cordano was sentenced to bring down Gabriel Avalos.

However, the referee overturned his decision after checking VAR. The Paraguayan players were in an offside position before the contact between Cordano and Avalos occurred.

Bolivia was forced to go down to 10 men after Jaume Cuellar was shown a second yellow card late in the first half.

Paraguay equalized in the 62nd minute through Alejandro Romero's volley from outside the box. The score is 1-1.

Taking advantage of the advantages of the number of players, Paraguay began to appear attacking and produce results only three minutes later.

Carlos Espinola's header welcomes a cross that can be blocked by goalkeeper Ruben Cordano. However, the ball threw up easily by Angel Romero into the net. Score 2-1 to Paraguay.

Angel Romero scored again in the 80th minute. Paraguay's game was able to create a 4 on 2 situation after successfully capturing the ball in the middle.

The ball went to Romero on the left who then beat goalkeeper Cordano with a low shot at the near post. The 3-1 score lasted until the game was over.

A 3-1 victory over Bolivia made Paraguay temporarily lead the Group B standings.

#CopaAmérica 🏆

Las posiciones del Grupo A, luego de la primera jornada de la CONMEBOL #CopaAmérica 🏆 🇵🇾 🇦🇷 🇨🇱 🇺🇾 🇧🇴

Classificação do Grupo A após a primeira rodada 🇵🇾 🇦🇷 🇨🇱 🇺🇾 🇧🇴#VibraElContinente #VibraOContinente pic.twitter.com/UXmfeL51yD— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) June 15, 2021

They collected three points, ahead of Argentina and Chile who both collected one point. Bolivia is yet to bag any points, while Uruguay is yet to play their first game.