Paolo Guerrero leads Peru to victory with a hat-trick
He had been the star of Peru in previous matches, but couldn't find the net. That changed on Thursday, as Paolo Guerrero finally broke his goal drought and secured Peruvian spot in the semi-finals for the second consecutive Copa America.
"El Depredador" ("The Predator" in English), born on January 1, 1984, positioned himself in the center of the box and took advantage of every ball sent his way by his teammates: Cueva and Vargas from behind, and Farfán and Pizarro on the wings.
Gareca's offensive strategy worked perfectly and the Peruvians managed to overcome the weak Bolivian defense.
In the 20th minute, Flamengo's top scorer opened the scoring with a precise header and two minutes later, he capitalized on a lethal counter-attack led by Cueva, elegantly finishing the ball past the hesitant Bolivian goalkeeper, Romel Quiñónez.
In the second half, with the lead in their favor, Guerrero dropped back a few meters on the field. From there, he orchestrated his teammates' play, especially Jefferson Farfán, who missed three clear chances.
But the party at the Germán Becker stadium in Temuco had a name and surname, as Paolo Guerrero sealed his performance in the 73rd minute by taking advantage of a huge mistake from the Bolivian defense. Hat-trick for the "Predator" and Peru advances to the semi-finals.
It is definitive: the top scorer of the 2011 Copa America (with 5 goals) is back and is intimidating Chile.