It had been 24 years since Colombia had enjoyed a competitive victory over Brazil. It was also almost one year since Colombia was thrown out of the World Cup by Brazil in a violent 2-1 encounter.

The drama was heightened by Colombia essentially playing an elimination game.

It had all the ingredients for high drama. It did not disappoint.

Colombia pulled off a 1-0 win over Brazil to pick up a vital three points in Group C of the Copa America. While the score was low, tempers flared up throughout the match as the rivalry between these two nations increased. Here is what we learned from the match.

Colombia Sharpens Attack with Teofilo Gutierrez

The only change that Jose Pekerman made at game time was to put Teofilo Gutierrez up front to partner with Radamel Falcao in place of Carlos Bacca.

The thinking was that Gutierrez provided more mobility, opening up space for the captain and thus giving Colombia's attack more dimension.

It worked brilliantly as Los Cafeteros played to their strengths with greater speed through the middle and more chances to break through. Brazil's blemishes came to the forefront and the defense was often caught trying to catch Gutierrez.

More importantly, having the mobile Gutierrez allowed Colombia's main attacking threats, James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado, the space they needed to create.

Falcao Still a Problem

He was not the liability he was during the 1-0 loss against Venezuela, but the captain continued to struggle. He looked slow on the attack and his touches were not sharp or confident. At this point the question beckons -- why use a slow player when speed on the attack is your greatest asset?

When Ibarbo came on for Falcao, Pekerman moved to a 4-2-3-1 formation, thus allowing Rodriguez his natural position behind the central forward. It worked well when Colombia attacked and Ibarbo proved handy at keeping the ball and playing a physical style that unsettled Brazil.

Maybe it is time to admit that the captain is past his best and start someone in his place against Peru.

Carlos Sanchez the Unsung Hero

We will get to Brazil, but one more word on Colombia. The defense still looked shambolic at times and Colombia is lucky to have come away with a 1-0 win. One mistake between David Ospina and Jeison Murillo was not capitalized by Roberto Firmino, and Neymar headed a shot that Ospina shockingly stopped.

Yet there was some hope for Colombia's defensive play and it came in the form of Carlos Sanchez. He shut down Neymar for long periods, fouling the Brazilian captain at will and make life difficult for him. Any strong Colombian defensive play featured Sanchez somewhere in the mix and the holding midfielder looked poised every time he had the ball.

Brazil's Offense Is Nothing without Neymar

That statement was not completely true against Peru as Willian featured greatly for his nation. Willian, however, was largely absent against Colombia, thus putting the onus on Neymar to make something happen.

With the exception of the Firmino miss, the same movie played over and over again with Neymar being Brazil's only offensive force. It was a disastrous night overall for Brazil with the best chances actually going Colombia's way for most of the game.

The problem for Brazil is that Neymar will no longer be available in the final group game and he could very well miss the opening knockout game if he gets a two-game suspension.

Without him Brazil is in big trouble.

Standings Update

As it stands, Colombia and Brazil have three points atop the table with Venezuela while Peru languishes at the bottom with zero points. However, Venezuela and Peru still have one game in hand which will be played tomorrow.