Facundo Pellistri enjoyed his best moment in a Uruguay shirt last night as he scored his first goal for his national team and provided an assist in an impressive 4-0 friendly win over Mexico.
La Celeste will play in the COPA America this summer where they will face off against the United States, Panama, and Bolivia in their group.
In last night’s friendly, Uruguay blitzed Mexico in the first half, scoring three goals and added a fourth shortly after the halftime break in the 49th minute.
Both sides had eight shots on goal and Uruguay actually had less of the ball with 45% possession in the game.
Pellistri, who spent the second half of the season on loan in Spain, scored his first goal on the international stage and provided an assist for Darwin Nunez’s third goal of the match.
Pellistri was given an impressive score of 8.3 for his efforts on Sofascore.
The United winger scored his side’s second goal of the match when he drifted into a central position and swept home a cross from the right. The ball was hit straight at the Mexican keeper but he let the ball squirm underneath his body.
The explosive right winger soon turned provider as in the 49th minute he raced through one-on-one against the keeper, calmly took the ball around him, and squared the ball across goal for a grateful Nunez to tap in for his hat-trick.
The 22-year-old had 32 touches of the ball and made 11 out of his 15 passes, giving him a 73% success rate. To go alongside his goal and assist, he also had one shot blocked as he proved a thorn in the Mexican’s side for the entire 90 minutes.
Pellistri was also a threat down the right-hand side, completing three out of his four dribble attempts. He won 100% of his aerial duels and six out of his 14 ground battles.
The winger also helped out defensively making two tackles in the game.
It will certainly be a reminder to the United decision-makers that on his day, Pellistri can offer something different from other wingers at the club and perhaps deserves the chance to prove it for an entire season at Old Trafford.
Marco Bielsa’s side will not be in action again until they face Bolivia on Monday 24th June (UK time) in their opening fixture of COPA America.
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