Peru 1-1 Uruguay: Debutant Nunez rescues late draw for 10-man visitors

Peru 1-1 Uruguay: Debutant Nunez rescues late draw for 10-man visitors

Darwin Nunez came off the bench to rescue a late 1-1 draw for Uruguay against Peru in their international friendly in Lima.

Christofer Gonzales’ header gave Peru a 34th-minute lead after Uruguay were reduced to 10-men when Martin Caceres was sent off on Tuesday.

But Nunez headed in Matias Vina’s cross against the run of play to earn La Celeste an unlikely draw after victory over the same opposition four days ago at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.

Tuesday’s match came to life in the 26th minute after a scrappy opening, when experienced defender Caceres was shown a red card for two cautions within a minute.

The former Barcelona and Juventus defender was booked for his initial challenge on Miguel Trauco before receiving a second yellow for his protests to Colombian referee Carlos Herrera.

¡Final del partido en el Estadio Nacional! Nuestra @SeleccionPeru igualó 1-1 con @Uruguay en amistoso internacional. #ArribaPerú pic.twitter.com/9b7zlWauCf

— Selección Peruana (@SeleccionPeru) October 16, 2019

Uruguay head coach Oscar Tabarez reacted by introducing Giovanni Gonzalez for Maxi Gomez, the visitors conceded moments later when Peru had their first notable chance of the game.

Luis Advincula beat his marker down the right and whipped in a teasing cross for Gonzalez to head home unmarked.

Peru had defeated Uruguay 5-4 on penalties in June’s Copa America fixture en route to a final defeat by Brazil and they continued to look comfortable, as La Celeste lacked the sharpness shown in Friday’s 1-0 win.

But two substitutes linked up for La Celeste as Vina’s cross found Nunez, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes, to head in and have the final say for the visitors.