A youthful Brazilian national team is looking far better than the veterans did at the World Cup.
Daniel Alves and Alexandre Pato scored for the second straight game, leading Brazil over Ukraine 2-0 Monday night in an exhibition that maintained the Selecao's perfect record under new coach Mano Menezes.
Daniel Alves scored in the 24th minute with a deflected volley off a cross from Robinho, and Pato scored with a shot on a turn in the 64th after Robinho set Eduardo free down the right side. Pato has scored in three consecutive exhibitions for Brazil, giving the AC Milan forward four goals in 11 international appearances.
Pato was overlooked for the World Cup roster by former coach Dunga, who was replaced by Menezes following the quarterfinal loss to the Netherlands.
A youthful Brazil side was missing many veterans, among them Kaka, Lucio, Maicon and Luis Fabiano. The starting lineup included Thiago Silva, Lucas Leiva and Ramires.
''We expected a harder game than the ones we've had so far, and I am satisfied with the game and how my team played,'' said Menezes, whose team beat the United States 2-0 and Iran 3-0. ''The team is making progress but we need to play more games like this one tonight, against different kinds of teams and different kinds of philosophies of football.''
As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup, Menezes has been charged with the task of restoring flair and creativity to the Selecao after the defensive tactics of Dunga.
Brazil next meets Argentina in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 17.
''I think the last few results were positive. We have won all our games, but we have a tough opponent in the next match,'' Lucas said. ''We know how difficult that will be, but I think we are in a good place at the moment.''
Ukraine, which will co-host the 2012 European Championship with Poland, lost for the first time in four matches under interim coach Yury Kalitvintsev.
Robinho made his return to England after being obtained by AC Milan from Manchester City in August. He delighted a sparse crowd of 13,088 at Pride Park with his stepovers and flicks.
''He is more mature now. Even though he's not so old, he's one of the oldest players we have in the team and he is happy now, which is really important for us,'' Menezes added. ''He's one of the key players for us.''
