Brazil 2 Serbia 0 Neymar and co top World Cup group after Paulinho and Thiago Silva net

PHILIPPE COUTINHO made sure Brazil avoided the same fate as Germany with a dazzling display for the five-time winners.

The Barcelona star destroyed Serbia with his pinpoint passing, setting up a brilliant opener for Paulinho before Thiago Silva headed a second from Neymar's corner.

So it was no surprise to see him given a standing ovation by a raucous crowd at the Luzhniki stadium as Brazil booked a last-16 clash with Mexico as group winners.

The alarm bells were ringing for Brazil before kick-off when the Germans, their conquerors four years ago, crashed out.

And they did not have the greatest starts, with full back Marcelo forced off after suffering a back spasm to be replaced by Filipe Luis.

Brazil had questions to answer after limping through their first two games and were quickly on top in a bid to avoid the same fate as the world champions.

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