The Brasileirão has begun, and right in the first round, we had many controversies regarding refereeing decisions and beautiful goals.
Come and follow how the matches unfolded that marked the beginning of Brazil’s most important competition and undoubtedly the most fiercely contested in the world.
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Index
Brasileirão
Internacional 2-1 Bahia
In a tumultuous moment in the season, Internacional came from behind to defeat Bahia at Beira-Rio.
At the 22nd minute, Lucca advanced from the left and crossed to Borré. The Colombian shot with his left foot, and Marcos Felipe made a great save without giving a rebound.
At the 27th minute, Jean Lucas made a good individual play, exchanged passes with Arias, and shot from inside the area. Rochet made a good save, sending it out for a corner.
Bahia opened the scoring at the 24th minute of the second half. Jean Lucas passed to Biel inside the area, who dribbled past the defender and shot into the goal.
Internacional quickly reacted and equalized at the 27th minute. Renê threw a long ball into the box, and Wesley found himself with the ball, shooting between the legs of goalkeeper Marcos Felipe.
At the 37th minute, Bruno Henrique took a corner to the far post, Fernando rose high and headed into the back of the net, securing Internacional’s come-from-behind victory.
Foto: Fabiano do Amaral
Criciúma 1-1 Juventude
After 10 years, the charming Heriberto Hülse Stadium hosted a Serie A match again, with Criciúma hosting Juventude, both of whom were promoted last season. The two teams played a fiercely contested and lively game, with chances for both sides, but the 1-1 draw prevailed.
Juventude started by pressing hard in the central midfield. Just 2 minutes in, after a good combination on the right, Lucas Braga received the ball, cut inside, and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot that narrowly missed over the crossbar.
Almost immediately afterward, Juventude regained possession in midfield, and after a scramble at the edge of the area, the ball fell to Lucas Barbosa, who, face to face with the goalkeeper, attempted to chip but failed.
Criciúma tried to push Juventude back but struggled and suffered from quick counterattacks. At the 14th minute, once again, Lucas Barbosa broke through on the right and delivered a beautiful through ball to Gilberto, who attacked the ball diagonally and shot across goal, narrowly missing the post.
At the 21st minute, another ball was lost in midfield by Tigre. Nenê received it and carried it forward through the middle with freedom, then shot from outside the box, saved well by Alisson.
In the following play, Tigre had their first big chance. Right-back Claudinho delivered a beautiful cross to the far post towards top scorer Renato Kaizer, whose header was cleared by Juventude’s defender. However, the ball fell to veteran Éder in front of goal, who was immediately fouled by the Verdão’s defender, resulting in a penalty being awarded. However, VAR intervened, ruling out the penalty for offside.
At the 30th minute, another mistake in Criciúma’s build-up, Nenê intercepted the ball and played a sweet pass to Lucas Barbosa, who once again shot powerfully from inside the area but missed the target.
At the 35th minute, Tigre fought back. Marquinhos delivered a beautiful through ball to Hermes on the left flank, the full-back headed to Kayzer in the middle of the area, and the top scorer chested it down, evading the defender, and with the ball still in the air, executed a sort of volley to score a fantastic goal, showcasing his ball control in that moment, making it 1-0 Criciúma.
Five minutes later, Verdão tried to respond with a strong shot from JAdsom from outside the box, but it went straight to the goalkeeper Alisson, who held it calmly.
A good first half ended, but more excitement was to come. Early in the second half, Marquinhos Gabriel dribbled into the box, pulled off a beautiful nutmeg on the defender, and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, which goalkeeper Gabriel parried away and the defense cleared.
At the 18th minute, Jean Carlos received the ball in midfield on the right, advanced with great speed and dribbling, until reaching the edge of the box, where he unleashed a shot into the corner, leaving Alisson with no chance, another gem at Heriberto Hülse, making it 1-1.
Both teams still had another chance to increase the score, but both goalkeepers stood firm. Juventude’s chance came with another long-range effort, and Criciúma’s chance came after a beautiful play from debutant Bolasie on the left, finding Kayzer at the far post, who finished well, but Gabriel was alert to make the save.
What a game we had in Santa Catarina.
Photo: Celso da Luz/Assessoria de imprensa C.E.C
Fluminense 2-2 Bragantino
Fluminense and Bragantino played out an entertaining draw.
At the 7th minute, Samuel Xavier attempted from long range, Cleiton stretched to make a great save, tipping it over for a corner.
From the corner, Ganso passed to Marquinhos away from goal. The forward attempted from long range, hitting the crossbar.
At the 32nd minute, Mosquera miscontrolled the ball in the box, and it fell to Marcelo. The full-back hit it with his right foot, hitting the crossbar again.
Fluminense opened the scoring at the 49th minute. Ganso took a corner to the near post, Lima rose and headed across goal, leaving Cleiton with no chance.
In the second half, Bragantino quickly reacted.
At the 47th minute, Vitinho delivered a free-kick into the box, Eduardo Sasha headed down and equalized.
Bragantino turned the game around at the 51st minute. Hurtado made a good individual play and passed to Vitinho, who crossed perfectly for Borbas to score.
At the 67th minute, Lima attempted from outside the box, taking a deflection off the defense, fooling goalkeeper Cleiton, and equalized again.
At the 70th minute, Cano connected with a cross from Marquinhos, and Cleiton made a great save.
Fluminense and Bragantino played a game with plenty of goal-scoring opportunities, ending in a draw.
Photo: Thiago Ribeiro/Agif
São Paulo 1-2 Fortaleza
Despite various criticisms from fans regarding Tricolor Paulista, the Morumbi hosted another great crowd to support São Paulo in their Brasileirão debut, this time against Fortaleza, who were also not in a good moment.
The game started very tepidly, with both teams making many errors in passes and failing to create good plays. The first significant chance of the match occurred only at the 20th minute when Luciano received the ball on the left wing, cut inside, and took a firm shot, with goalkeeper João Ricardo getting a touch and the ball hitting the post.
At the 28th minute, Igor Vinicius managed to progress on the right and passed the ball inside. Luciano found a good pass at the edge of the area but began a scramble between the São Paulo attack and the Leão defense, until the ball fell to Michel Araújo, who unleashed a rocket for another great save from João Ricardo.
In the following minute, however, Fortaleza struck first. Matheus Vargas received the ball outside the area and sent it long for David, who won the duel with Miranda, advanced into the box, and hit the ball over the advancing goalkeeper, opening the scoring for the visiting side.
São Paulo tried to respond immediately and came close in the 37th minute when Igor Vinicius found Luciano inside the area, who spun and fired, but João Ricardo saved once again.
The first half ended with a slight dominance from São Paulo in possession but with Fortaleza proving to be more effective in attack.
The second half started with São Paulo looking to push forward, but it was Fortaleza who struck again at the 56th minute. Yago Pikachu received the ball on the right and sent a dangerous cross into the area. Luan, attempting to clear, ended up deflecting the ball into his own net, doubling the lead for Fortaleza.
Despite being down by two goals, São Paulo didn’t give up and continued to press forward. At the 69th minute, Gabriel Sara found space outside the area and attempted a long-range shot, which deflected off a defender and wrong-footed João Ricardo, pulling one back for São Paulo.
São Paulo pushed hard in the final minutes, but Fortaleza defended well and held on to secure a surprising 2-1 victory at the Morumbi, leaving the home fans disappointed once again.
Photo: Leonardo Moreira/Fortaleza EC
Corinthians 0x0 Atlético-MG
As usual, the Neo Química Arena was packed with the “Bando de Loucos” (Crazy Crowd), who threw an incredible party for Timão’s debut, facing the high-spirited Atlético MG led by coach Gabriel Milito.
Despite expecting a good football match, that’s not what happened; on the contrary, it seemed more like a war than a game. There were a total of 16 yellow cards and 2 red cards. However, it’s worth highlighting the beautiful defensive game played by Corinthians, who, despite committing many fouls, managed to stop the impetus of Galo’s Hulk, Paulinho, Scarpa, and company.
The game was so contested and locked in the middle that the first dangerous play happened only 12 minutes into the second half, after Galo had Battaglia sent off for receiving a second yellow card for a challenge on Yuri Alberto, preventing the forward from advancing toward the goal.
Wesley dashed down the left flank and, as usual, stuck the ball to his foot and headed for a 1×1 against the Atlético defense. The young prospect passed Saravia, nutmegged Paulinho, who came to cover, and unleashed a right-footed shot for a good save by Everson. Then, the ball fell to Wesley again, who almost repeated the move, cutting inside and firing a shot, this time off target.
With one man up, Timão tried to grow into the game, but seemed to lack creativity to execute plays and break down Atlético’s defensive wall. However, some chances arose. At 30 minutes, Igor Coronado carried the ball down the right and crossed it into the box, Romero anticipated the marking and headed wide.
At 35, Corinthians had a free-kick from very far out. The full-back Hugo seemed unfazed by the distance and sent a low rocket with his left foot, but the ball narrowly missed.
At 42 minutes, another good chance fell to Hugo, this time the full-back received a high ball from outside the box and unleashed another rocket wide.
In the last minute of stoppage time, Galo had their first and only major chance, a free-kick at the edge of the box for one of the few Brazilian football specialists, Scarpa, who carefully set up and perfectly shot towards the top corner. However, Cássio leaped with great vigor and grace to make a beautiful save to secure the first 0x0 of the 2024 Brasileirão.
Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians
Athletico-PR 4×0 Cuiabá
Athletico-PR had no mercy on Cuiabá and scored a big win in the Brasileirão debut.
At 23 minutes, Fernandinho took a corner, Julimar nodded it down, and Pablo was there in the small box to open the scoring.
At 36 minutes, Lucas Mineiro lost the ball to Fernandinho inside the box. The midfielder was one-on-one with Walter and passed it to Canobbio to tap it into the net.
The Hurricane scored again in the next minute. Canobbio raced down the right and passed it to Leo Godoy, who struck it across goal to make it 3-0 for Athletico.
In the 57th minute, Canobbio made a beautiful pass to Julimar. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, he attempted a chip shot, but Walter made a great save.
The Hurricane sealed the victory at 81 minutes with Mastriani. Zapelli took a free-kick into the box, and the Uruguayan headed it into the goal.
With the big win, Athletico-PR leads the Brasileirão, thanks to goal difference.
Photo: José Tramontin/athletico.com.br
Atlético-GO 1×2 Flamengo
Atlético-GO had two outfield players sent off, as well as their coach Jair Ventura, and Flamengo won in the last minute in a highly controversial match.
In the 7th minute, Arrascaeta passed to Everton Cebolinha who took a shot from outside the box. The shot narrowly missed the goal.
In the 13th minute, Jair Ventura was sent off for asking for a yellow card for Erick Pulgar, in a play in Atlético-GO’s defensive half. While Jair Ventura left the field on the sidelines, Tite protested the decision and defended the opponent, arguing with the fourth official.
At 33 minutes, Shaylon crossed, Emiliano Rodríguez controlled and shot from close range. Rossi made a great save.
At 43 minutes, Alix Vinicius fouled Pedro, and the referee showed the defender a straight red card. De La Cruz scored a fantastic goal from the resulting free-kick. He hit the top corner, and the goalkeeper Ronaldo didn’t move.
Despite trailing, Atlético-GO continued to attack.
The Dragon equalized the match at 62 minutes into the second half. Maguinho crossed, Luiz Fernando beat Ayrton Lucas and headed powerfully to score.
At 67 minutes, Rossi had the ball in his hands, Léo Pereira collided with Luiz Felipe, and the referee awarded a penalty. Shaylon took the spot-kick but hit the post.
At 82 minutes, Atlético-GO appeared to take the lead, but due to a millimeter and dubious offside call, Baralhas’ goal was disallowed.
At 90+5 minutes, the VAR intervened as Maguinho was observed elbowing Bruno Henrique. The penalty was confirmed, and the Atlético-GO full-back was sent off. In the last play of the game, Pedro converted the penalty to give Flamengo the victory.
Photo: X/@Flamengo_en
Vasco 2×1 Grêmio
In another match with problematic refereeing, Vasco defeated Grêmio at São Januário.
At 14 minutes, the referee initially awarded a penalty for a foul by Gustavo Martins on Rossi but was called to review the play on VAR. Realizing there was nothing in the incident, the referee overturned the penalty decision and cautioned Rossi for simulation.
At 24 minutes, Marchesín cleared a cross poorly, David shot with the inside of his foot, and with a deflection off the defense, opened the scoring.
At 37 minutes, Rossi took a corner, Matheus Carvalho found himself alone near the penalty spot and volleyed it home, doubling Vasco’s lead.
At 40 minutes, Lucas Piton handled the ball inside the box, in a duel with Diego Costa. The referee didn’t award the penalty and was called to VAR to review the play, but maintained his decision and didn’t point to the spot.
At 48 minutes of the second half, Rossi crossed, Vegetti headed, and Marchesín made a good save.
At 59 minutes, Nathan Fernandes entered the box and shot across goal. The ball narrowly missed the post.
At 67 minutes, Cristaldo took a short corner to Cuiabano. The full-back crossed into the box, and Gustavo Martins arrived to score and reduce the deficit for Grêmio.
Vasco managed to withstand Grêmio’s pressure and secure the victory.
Photo: André Durão
Cruzeiro 3×2 Botafogo
At Mineirão, Cruzeiro and Botafogo starred in one of the best matches of the 1st round of the Brasileirão, a 3-2 thriller with plenty of chances for both teams.
Botafogo started stronger and quickly opened the scoring at the 4th minute. Mateo Ponte found Junior Santos with a beautiful pass down the parallel, who, with exceptional speed, carried the ball down the right wing and found Tiquinho unmarked at the far post. The Alvinegro top scorer simply tapped the ball in to make it 1-0 for Fogão.
The game became more tactical until the 19th minute when Lucas Romero delivered a great pass down the right for William. The full-back crossed to the far post for Arthur Gomes, who headed onto Mateo Ponte, and the rebound kindly fell to Lucas Silva, who struck a parallel rocket, what a goal, 1-1.
At the 25th minute, Lucas Silva played a beautiful trivela pass to the left for full-back Marlon, who advanced and crossed for Matheus Pereira. The midfielder received the ball and fired low towards the corner, but Gatito made a fine save.
At 27 minutes, William crossed again from the right to find Arthur Gomes at the far post. The winger beat the defense and put the ball into the net, but the VAR called the referee and confirmed that Arthur Gomes had used his arm, disallowing the goal.
Still, towards the end of the first half, William again crossed from the right to find Arthur Gomes, but the ball fell to Matheus Pereira inside the box. The midfielder attempted a first-time shot but missed the target.
Early in the second half, Botafogo produced a great combination play, and Tiquinho provided the pass for Hugo entering the box. The young full-back crossed low, and the forward finished beautifully, but Anderson made a great save.
Botafogo started the second half strongly. At the 50th minute, Jeffinho was through on goal, beat the goalkeeper, but his shot hit the side netting, what a shame, it would have been a beauty.
At the 63rd minute, Cruzeiro attacked down the left and crossed into the box. Matheus Pereira controlled the ball and kept it in the air, with the Botafogo defense trying to clear, but after a scramble, the ball fell to Rafa Silva, who fired home a powerful shot for Raposa’s second.
The game became very tight in midfield until the 83rd minute when Danilo Barbosa rose above everyone in the box and headed home a beautiful goal, leaving the goalkeeper no chance. Fogão leveled the match.
When the game seemed to be ending in a thrilling 2-2 draw, William again crossed into the box, and Rafael Elias, the “Papagaio,” beat the defense to slot home, 3-2 to Raposa. In an emotional celebration, Rafael took off his shirt and showed it to the crowd, what a moment.
Photo: Fabio Barros/Agência F8/Gazeta Press
Vitória 0x1 Palmeiras
The current Serie B champions hosted the current Serie A champions at Barradão. Both teams also won their state championships against their rivals last weekend, so a good football match was expected.
Abel Ferreira’s Palmeiras fielded a mixed team, without Zé Rafael, Piquerez, Flaco López, and Gustavo Gómez, while Vitória came in full force.
The game started cautiously, with both teams struggling to find the final pass towards the opposing goal. At the 17th minute, the first big chance came when Richard Ríos recovered the ball on the right and crossed into the box. The ball was deflected and fell kindly for Veiga, who struck it powerfully with his right foot, but Lucas Arcanjo made a great save.
In the following play, Vitória responded with a beautiful move by Lucas Esteves on the left. The former Palmeiras player found the space and crossed low with precision for Alerrandro, but the number 9 let the ball slip away, managing to reach it but already closed down by Weverton, who made a good save.
At the 19th minute, Palmeiras replied. Veiga carried the ball through the middle and played a beautiful through pass into the box for Endrick. The Palmeiras youngster headed it for Rony inside the box, the speedy forward beat the defender, and crossed to Richard Ríos who was coming from behind. The Colombian struck a bomb first-time, the ball deflected off the red-black defense, and killed any chance of a save from Lucas Arcanjo, 1-0 Verdão.
Vitória managed to exchange good passes in Palmeiras’ half, but seemed unable to impose their usual speed on the wings. Furthermore, when they had chances to shoot, they were not effective. Palmeiras, on the other hand, seemed to defend cautiously and effectively to exploit potential counter-attacks.
Towards the end of the first half, Vitória had a great chance to equalize when Lucas Esteves again escaped down the left, went into the box along the byline, and crossed low into the middle of the box. The green-white defense struggled to clear, and Osvaldo arrived to take a shot from close range, but Weverton made a brilliant save.
With Matheus Gonçalves coming on in the second half, Leão (Lion) gained more speed and became more incisive, but lacked effectiveness in the final touches and finishing.
Palmeiras continued to exploit counter-attacks and even had at least two chances to extend the lead, one with Murilo’s header and another with Rony after he outpaced the defender and shot at Arcanjo’s chest.
In the end, Palmeiras managed to secure 3 points towards the title, but faced difficulties against the strong Vitória side.
Photo: Cesar Greco/Palmeiras/by Cannon
Written by Henry Miller and João Felipe Miller.
