Oscar Tabarez branded Edinson Cavani a scoring expert after his superb goal gave Uruguay a 1-0 victory over Chile and sealed top spot in Copa America Group C.
Cavani showed tremendous instincts to flick Jonathan Rodriguez s delivery past Gabriel Arias with his head in the 82nd minute at the Maracana on Monday, booking a quarter-final meeting with Peru.
Although Tabarez acknowledged the Paris Saint-Germain striker produced a far from exemplary display, he felt his goal was one that only a select few players could have scored.
That s the way Cavani is. He made a few mistakes, but he never gave up. He did three different roles during the match, but he never lost his main feature. He is a goalscorer, said the Uruguay boss.
It was a good cross, but the ball did not have a lot of pace on it and he had to steer it with the right force.
Not just anyone can do it, only the scoring experts. I think he s one of those.
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— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay)
Cavani insisted he had not viewed the match as a chance to gain revenge for Uruguay s defeat to Chile in the quarter-finals in 2015, a match in which he was sent-off.
The striker was shown a second yellow card in the 63rd minute following a bizarre altercation with Gonzalo Jara and La Roja went on to triumph 1-0 through Mauricio Isla.
For me, all goals mean the same thing. Scoring a goal with this shirt is the most beautiful thing a footballer can experience. The win helped us qualify first, said Cavani.
I do not see anything as revenge. Games go and then others come. We are happy for what we are experiencing here.
