Brazil's goalkeeper Alisson was fortunate after officials ruled out an Ecuador goal following his error ©Getty Images

Brazil survived a major scare against Ecuador at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on a day when goals were in short supply at the Copa América Centenario.

The Brazilian team were short of inspiration throughout the majority of the first half in the absence of their talisman Neymar, who was watching in the stands as he prepares for this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

They dominated possession but the majority of their efforts on goal came from distance, with Philippe Coutinho among those to fire off target as the eight-time winners looked to get their Group B campaign off to a winning start.

The key moment of the match, in front of a 53,158 crowd, saw Miler Bolanos fire a cross into the Brazilian area from the byline.

Brazil goalkeeper Alisson, making his third appearance for the senior team, spilled the cross into his own net at the near post with the officials sparing his blushes by controversially ruling that the ball had gone out of play before finding the net.

The disallowed strike proved the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock, with both forced to settle for a 0-0 draw in their first match of the special 100th anniversary edition of the tournament.

Paolo Guerrero's second half header saw him become Peru's all-time leading goalscorer
Paolo Guerrero's second half header saw him become Peru's all-time leading goalscorer ©Getty Images

Peru took advantage of the result to move to the top of the Group B standings as they were able to earn a narrow 1-0 win over Haiti at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Edinson Flores struck the post for Peru in the opening half of the match, but delivered the key cross in the second to help his side open the scoring on the hour mark.

The ball was met by Paolo Guerrero, winner of the golden boot at the Copa America in 2011 and 2015, with the forward heading into the Haiti net.

Guerrero’s effort saw him overtake Teófilo Cubillas as his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, having scored his 27th goal at international level.

Following Colombia’s victory over the United States in yesterday’s tournament opener, Costa Rica and Paraguay played out a goalless draw in the second Group A match at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

After a match of few chances, the Costa Rican side were reduced to 10-men in second half stoppage time with Kendall Waston penalised for a reckless challenge on Paraguay’s Nelson Valdez.