Hot-shot Guerrero makes his mark

Peru striker Jose Paolo Guerrero played a key role in steering his side to a 4-1 win over Venezuela on Saturday.

Guerrero hit a hat-trick as Peru clinched a third-place finish in the Copa America.

The Hamburg player, who is now the tournament’s leading goalscorer with five, netted the crucial second strike midway through the second half.

That goal came six minutes after Venezuela had been reduced to 10 men following club colleague Tomas Rincon’s red card.

Guerrero then added a further two goals to put the icing on the cake.

“We fought and we were strong when it mattered,” he said.

“I am proud to be Peruvian. We enjoyed the tournament although we could have got a little more out of it.”

“Third place is fine. I am very proud of this team. I work for the group and the important thing is the team. I scored three goals and I’m very happy.”

“Third place is a good achievement. As for being the top scorer, I am the main striker and I can say that scoring goals is my job. Most of all, I am glad to have made a contribution to this side.”

Venezuela goalkeeper Renny Vega believes his country will now be taken seriously on the international stage after the fourth-placed finish.

“We gave it our all and we now have to move on and think about the World Cup qualifiers,” he told Fox Sports.

“We learned a lot from this last game, which taught us that no game is easy.”

“People have now realised that Venezuelan football must be respected. We have to keep our heads held high and continue to work hard. I am now looking ahead to the World Cup qualifier against Ecuador.”

Coach Cesar Farias admitted that his side paid for making too many errors against a Peru team, whom he felt came into the game feeling fresher and more relaxed.

“With 10 men, we were able to score but then Peru began to take advantage of our mistakes.”

“We tried to come back but in the end we were the inferior team. Our organisation let us down.”