Manchester City duo Elano and Robinho both struck first half goals to delight a packed Emirates Stadium and give Brazil a 2-0 win over Italy in an international friendly.
A star-studded cast took to the field in a clash of the two of most successful teams in international football, with the 2002 World Cup winners registering victory over the 2006 champions.
On paper, this game - friendly or not - always promises much and once again it did not disappoint, with the crowd treated to a fiercely competitive encounter filled with flair, two fine goals and no small amount of tough tackling.
As expected, Brazil started with an attacking line-up, with striker Adriano supported by the talents of Ronaldinho, Robinho and Elano.
And it was the latter pair who got their names on the scoresheet to give the South Americans a two-goal half-time lead after an entertaining opening 45 minutes.
Both strikes were of the highest quality, Elano setting the standard on 13 minutes following a sumptuous, flowing passing move that had the Italian back line wondering what had hit them - no mean feat given the Azzurri's defensive reputation.
Ronaldinho started off the series of crisp, first-time passes, Elano ultimately receiving the ball for a second time in as many seconds as he ran through on goal. A neat finish by the diminutive midfielder over the advancing Gianluigi Buffon was good enough to break the deadlock.
Fourteen minutes later Brazil doubled their lead with another magical passage of play, although this time the bar was raised by just one man - Robinho.
Following a quick counter attack, and helped by some indecision by Andrea Pirlo in the Italy defence, the City forward pulled a dazzling array of tricks right out of the top drawer to twist and turn past three defenders before firing a low shot across Buffon and into the far corner.
Elano also went close with a scorching shot that fizzed inches over the bar before the half-time whistle sounded and the sizeable Brazilian contingent at the Emirates retreated to the concourses in high spirits.
But it could easily have been a different story.
After just five minutes, Italy defender Fabio Grosso lost his marker and connected sweetly with a volley that arrowed into the back of the net, only to see the linesman's flag rule out the strike. Television replays later showed the Lyon full-back to have been at least level with the last Brazilian defender when the ball was played through.
It was to prove a crucial decision as Italy initially struggled to recover from going two goals behind.
The introduction of Giuseppe Rossi after the break gave the Azzurri a touch more bite going forward and the former Manchester United striker gave the South Americans a scare on 48 minutes with a sharp shot that hit the side netting.
Italy had a second goal disallowed, although half-time substitute Luca Toni's finish on 68 minutes was this time correctly chalked off for hand-ball.
Marcelo Lippi's side stepped up their game as the second half wore on and twice Toni went close to pulling one back, but Julio Cesar denied the Bayern Munich striker's headers on both occasions.
In between Toni's brace of efforts, Grosso brought a fine save from the Internazionale keeper with a curling 25-yard free-kick, but it was not enough for Italy to avoid a first defeat under Lippi since October 2004.
As for the Italian's opposite number, the result was just what Dunga needed amid speculation former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari could be in line for a return to the Brazil set-up.
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