At this point, Chelsea supporters have ran out of superlatives to describe Thiago Silva. The 38-year-old continues to defy belief and he did so when Brazil met South Korea on Monday evening in the last-16 of the World Cup.
Seleção took an early lead in Qatar as Vinicius Jr. continued his fine form in the tournament with a seventh minute goal. The returning Neymar then doubled Brazil's advantage with a strike from the penalty spot before Tottenham's Richarlison made it 3-0 before the half hour-mark.
The Spurs striker finished well after a sublime first-time pass from Silva, who was near the edge of the box for Brazil. It was a wonderfully worked team goal and one of the most intelligent passes you are likely to see from Silva. We all know how good of a defender he is, but the Chelsea man will have shocked a few people with the vision and technique he showed to set Richarlison up.
READ MORE: Reece James returns, 11 new faces: Four things spotted in Chelsea training from Abu Dhabi
Lucas Paqueta of West Ham United made it 4-0 before half-time to wrap up the scoring for Brazil. Paik Seung-ho scored for South Korea late into the second-half, but the game was all but done at that point, with Brazil progressing into the quarter-finals of the tournament.
There were a number of standout performers for Brazil and the main talking point will of course be the goal scoring return of Neymar. However, Silva certainly caught the eye of Brazilian website ge.globo after the game in their player ratings section.
Receiving a 7.5/10 for his efforts, the website wrote this about the Chelsea defender: "In the game in which he equalled Dunga and Cafu as the player who captained Brazil the most times in World Cups (11), the defender had yet another great performance.
"Practically flawless in marking, he still attacked with the number 10 and gave a great assist for Richarlison to score the third goal. He was unlucky on the South Korean goal kick, where the ball deflected over him."
There was a moment when the second-half kicked off, Brazil were 4-0 up but gave away possession a couple of times, and Silva was forced to scream at his teammates to guard against complacency. They must have listened to the Chelsea defender as they went on to see out the rest of the match in a professional manner.
Brazil will now take on Mateo Kovacic's Croatia side in the last eight of the competition on Friday. The winner of that match will take on whoever wins out of Argentina and the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
READ NEXT:
Todd Boehly and Chelsea sent clear Cody Gakpo transfer message as Declan Rice issued warning
Why Ruben Loftus-Cheek hasn't been involved in Chelsea training as Reece James makes return
Chelsea handed injury boost as Graham Potter provides first-team opportunity to 12 academy stars
Todd Boehly and Graham Potter have £43m Chelsea question to solve in January transfer window
Gareth Southgate's Reece James problem for England vs France with major Kylian Mbappe dilemma
