Brasileirão 2023: 8th Round

Athletico-PR 1×2 Grêmio

Grêmio is growing in the competition!

The Immortal, who won the Gaúcho Championship, had shown a somewhat inconsistent football during the season; however, they have been improving their performance and achieving extremely important results.

The difficulty of playing at Arena da Baixada is well known. The Furacão stadium has several peculiarities, such as the “cauldron” atmosphere and its synthetic turf. However, Grêmio did not let these adversities affect them and played a beautiful game.

The teams came out with the following lineups: Bento; Madson, Pedro Henrique, Thiago Heleno, and Fernando; Erick, Hugo Moura, Canobbio, Christian, and Pablo; Vitor Roque. Against: Gabriel Grando; Fábio, Gustavo Martins, Bruno Uvini, and Reinaldo; Vilassanti, Milla, Vina, Cristaldo, and Zinho; Everton Galdino.

The game started evenly, and Vitor Roque missed a goal right at the 1-minute mark.

At the 30th minute, Grêmio scored a beautiful goal. With some intricate play at the edge of the box, Galdino performs a dazzling dribble that ends up serving as an assist for Cuiabano to strike and open the scoring at the arena.

But the young striker doesn’t make the same mistake twice. With a long ball played to Vitor Roque, similar to the earlier opportunity, he outpaces the defenders and delicately chips the ball over the goalkeeper.

It’s worth highlighting the quality of this young player, who continues to grow and has tremendous potential to become a great player on the world stage.

Nevertheless, Grêmio is indeed in a good phase. Renato Gaúcho’s team didn’t lose focus, and shortly after the start of the second half, at the 48th minute, Bruno Uvini outjumps the Furacão defense to score from a corner kick, putting the Immortal in the lead once again.

The Tricolor Gaúcho managed to control the game well and came out with the victory.

This highlights the importance of winning the Grenal derby.

Currently, Grêmio is in 5th place in the Brasileirão and will face Cruzeiro midweek for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil.

Meanwhile, Furacão will seek redemption against Botafogo, also in the midweek, in the Copa do Brasil. In the Brasileirão, they are currently in 11th place.

Fortaleza 2×0 Vasco da Gama

Fortaleza wins against Vasco with late goals, leaving the Cariocas in a complicated situation in the table.

Fortaleza took the field with: João Ricardo; Tinga, Brítez, Titi, and Bruno Pacheco; Caio Alexandre, Hércules (José Welison), and Calebe (Yago Pikachu); Moisés (Guilherme), Lucero (Silvio Romero), and Thiago Galhardo (Pochettino).

Vasco, on the other hand, started with: Léo Jardim; Paulo Henrique, Capasso (Miranda), Léo, and Lucas Piton; Jair (Rodrigo), Barros (Mateus Carvalho), and Galarza (Orellano); Gabriel Pec, Figueiredo, and Alex Teixeira (Eguinaldo).

Fortaleza started the match very well, creating many dangerous opportunities, but failed to convert them into goals. In the 5th minute, Calebe took a free-kick towards the top corner, demanding a beautiful save from goalkeeper Léo Jardim. Then, at the 14th minute, once again, Calebe had a great chance. He found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper after an excellent pass from Galhardo, but he shot wide.

Vasco was being dominated but sometimes managed to counterattack, thus having chances to shoot from outside the box, with Alex Teixeira saved by João Ricardo and Figueiredo hitting the post.

In the first minute of the second half, Moisés received the ball freely in the area and took a low shot, once again saved by Léo Jardim.

The home team continued to press and managed to open the scoring only in the 41st minute, after a cross from Bruno Pacheco. Thiago Galhardo headed the ball between the defenders, this time leaving no chance for Léo Jardim.

Finally, Silvio Romero extended the lead in stoppage time, once again with an assist from Bruno Pacheco, crossing from the left side.

With the result, Fortaleza is in 9th position, one point away from the top four, while Vasco is in 18th place.

Photo: Leonardo Moreira / Fortaleza EC

Cuiabá 1×1 Coritiba

Important game for both teams, Cuiabá was seeking a home victory to distance themselves further from the relegation zone, while Coritiba was looking for their first win in the Brasileirão 2023. Under the intense heat of Cuiabá, the two teams were evenly matched.

Dourado started the match with: Walter, Matheus Alexandre, Marllon, Alan Empereur, and Rikelme (PK), Raniele (Ricardo Cerqueira), Ronald Lopes (Cappelini), and Fernando Sobral, Jonathan Cafú (Quagliata), Deyverson, and Wellington Silva (Iury Castilho).

Meanwhile, Coxa took to the field with: Gabriel, Natanael, Bruno Viana, Kuscevic, Henrique, and Jamerson (Victor Luís), Bruno Gomes, Liziero (Matheus Bianqui), and Boschilia (Junior Urso), Robson, and Kaio César (Wesley and Ruan Assis).

Dourado started by pressing high and disrupting Coritiba’s fragile ball circulation. Just 3 minutes into the game, Fernando Sobral broke free on the right, looked up, and attempted a cross. The ball ended up going directly into the goal from his foot, surprising goalkeeper Gabriel. Cuiabá took a 1-0 lead with an unintentional yet stunning goal from the talented midfielder.

Cuiabá continued to push for more goals, but the determined Coritiba defended well and tried to close down spaces to prevent penetrations. At times, Coritiba managed to break free on the right with Natanael’s forward runs.

The match was fiercely contested, and both teams showed great determination in the scorching heat of over 30 degrees Celsius at Arena Pantanal. At the 23rd minute, everyone was alarmed as the young 19-year-old Kaio Cesar collapsed on the field after a run towards the goal line. The ambulance entered the field and took the promising player to the hospital for examinations. Fortunately, Kaio quickly recovered, and the tests didn’t reveal anything serious.

After the game resumed, Dourado dominated the proceedings and had at least two good chances to score, one saved by Gabriel and another wasted by the scorer of the first goal, Fernando Sobral.

The second half began, and at the 48th minute, Coritiba equalized after a rehearsed corner play. Boschilia received a short pass from the corner and crossed the ball to Robson’s head, who headed it down like a diving fish, passing it under the legs of the towering Walter and into the back of the net.

In the second half, the game became more balanced until the entrances of Ceppelini and Quagliata for Cuiabá. The midfielder and forward managed to improve the team’s dynamics with quick and short passes. In fact, the last good chances of the match came from their feet. Quagliata delivered a beautiful cross to Deyverson, but the young forward’s header lacked power. In almost the next play, Quagliata held the ball well and passed it to Ceppelini, who took a well-placed shot but missed the target.

With the draw, Cuiabá reaches 8 points and remains outside the relegation zone in 15th place, while Coritiba remains at the bottom with only 3 points from 8 matches.

Flamengo 1×1 Cruzeiro

Flamengo started the game with: Matheus Cunha; Wesley, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira (David Luiz), and Ayrton Lucas; Thiago Maia, Erick, Gerson, and Matheus França (Cebolinha); Gabigol and Pedro.

On the other hand, Cruzeiro began with: Rafael Cabral; Igor Formiga (William), Lucas Oliveira, Luciano Castán, and Marlon; Wallisson (Matheus Jussa), Neto Moura (Mateus Vital), and Filipe Machado; Bruno Rodrigues, Wesley (Stênio), and Gilberto (Henrique Dourado).

At the 4th minute, Marlon passed and received a backheel from Bruno Rodrigues, entered the left side of the box, fired, and scored a fantastic goal.

In the 14th minute, Pedro was touched by Igor Formiga and fell in the box. The referee initially didn’t call anything, but with the help of VAR, he changed his decision and confirmed the penalty. Gabigol, the penalty specialist, hit the post and managed to follow up with the rebound, but the goal was disallowed because the taker cannot be the first to touch the ball after it hits the post.

Flamengo equalized in the 32nd minute after a great play by Wesley. The full-back reached the byline and crossed for the other full-back, Ayrton Lucas, to tap it in at the far post.

From then on, Cruzeiro created almost all the opportunities, but none of them with great clarity. On the other hand, Flamengo had their moments only in stoppage time of the second half, with chances from Gabigol, but they didn’t pose much danger.

With the result, Cruzeiro and Flamengo both have 13 points, in 6th and 7th positions, respectively.

Reprodução/internet

São Paulo 2×1 Goiás

What a phase São Paulo is going through!

The arrival of Dorival Jr. truly turned things around, and the team has been delivering consistent performances.

São Paulo took the field with the following lineup: Rafael; Rafinha, Diego Costa, Beraldo, and Caio Paulista; Pablo Maia, Gabriel Neves, Michel Araújo, and Alisson; Luciano and Calleri. Coach: Dorival Júnior.

Meanwhile, Goiás started with: Tadeu; Maguinho, Lucas Halter, Bruno Melo, and Sander; Willian, Zé Ricardo, Diego, and Alesson; Palacios and Matheus Peixoto.

Let’s get into the game.

Goiás started the match better. With their well-defined transition style of play, Esmeraldino took the lead after Dieguinho’s cross found Maguinho.

The Goiás full-back has been performing well and frequently finds the net, especially when he appears as a surprise element in the opponent’s area to head the ball.

However, as mentioned earlier, São Paulo is going through an illuminated phase. In the second half, Tricolor Paulista increased the pressure on Goiás, who couldn’t resist.

At the 56th minute, Pablo Maia receives the ball at the edge of the box and lives up to his main characteristic, the long-range shot. The player didn’t hesitate and took a powerful strike. The ball deflects off Goiás’ defense, preventing Tadeu from making the save.

From that point on, the packed Morumbi Stadium turned into a pressure cooker. São Paulo continued to pile on chances. In the 81st minute, they even managed to turn the game around, but Marcos Paulo’s goal was ruled offside and correctly disallowed.

Tricolor didn’t stop there and kept attacking, with a clear focus on aerial balls. Thus, in stoppage time, Wellington Rato takes the corner kick, and after a scramble in the box, the ball falls kindly for David to blast it into the back of the net.

With that, São Paulo extended their unbeaten streak under the command of Dorival Jr. to 11 matches—an impressive feat.

Tricolor Paulista now sits in 3rd position in the Brasileirão and will face Sport Recife at Morumbi Stadium in the next game, for the Copa do Brasil. São Paulo holds the advantage after a 2-0 victory over Leão da Ilha in the first leg.

On the other hand, Goiás languishes in 17th place but has the chance to lift the Copa Verde title on Wednesday when they face Paysandu, having won the first leg 2-0.

Corinthians 2×0 Fluminense

Corinthians defeats Flu with goals from Róger Guedes and leaves the relegation zone.

The match marked the return of Renato Augusto, who hadn’t played for over 50 days.

Corinthians started with: Cássio; Bruno Méndez (Fagner), Gil, Murillo, and Matheus Bidu; Fausto Vera (Giuliano), Maycon (Renato Augusto), and Roni; Adson (Wesley), Róger Guedes, and Yuri Alberto (Felipe Augusto).

Meanwhile, Fluminense began with: Fábio; Samuel Xavier, Nino, Felipe Melo (John Kennedy), and Guga (Giovanni); André, Martinelli, and Ganso; Lima (Arthur), Jhon Arias, and Germán Cano (Lelê).

In the first half, Fluminense dominated the game and created the best opportunities through precise passing, demanding good saves from goalkeeper Cássio. Meanwhile, Corinthians posed a threat only in the final minutes with Róger Guedes heading the ball wide after a corner kick.

In the second half, Timão came back with a different approach, attacking the opponent more aggressively. Maycon attempted a long-range shot at the 5th minute, saved by Fábio.

At the 13th minute, Corinthians opened the scoring. Matheus Bidu raced down the left flank after a ball recovered by Roni and crossed it to Yuri Alberto, who struck the ball for Róger Guedes to head it into the back of the net.

After conceding the goal, Flu pushed forward and had two great chances with John Kennedy, but he was denied by Cássio. In the first instance, the striker shot from inside the box, but the goalkeeper collected it. In the second opportunity, the Xerém product found himself one-on-one with Cássio after a scramble, but the keeper performed a miracle, parrying the ball away with his right hand.

In stoppage time, Corinthians extended their lead with a counter-attack. Fagner received the ball freely on the right and crossed to the far post, where Róger Guedes skillfully headed it into the opposite corner to beat Fábio.

With the result, Corinthians secured their first victory under Luxemburgo’s command, left the relegation zone, and currently occupies the 14th position. Fluminense dropped to 8th place.

Photo: Renato Pizzutto/ Band

Internacional 2×0 Bahia

Inter rebounds after Grenal defeat and defeats Bahia.

The teams took the field with: John; Rômulo, Igor Gomes, Nico Hernández, and Thauan Lara; Johnny and Carlos de Pena; Pedro Henrique, Alan Patrick, and Wanderson; Luiz Adriano. Against: Marcos Felipe, Kanu, David Duarte, and Vitor Hugo; Jacaré, Cauly, Thaciano, and Ryan; Ademir (Rezende), Biel, and Everaldo.

Inter knew they needed to respond to their fans after the Grenal defeat. Simply winning against Metropolitanos in the Libertadores was not enough considering the manner in which the game was lost.

Thus, the Colorado team started the game by attacking Bahia, who quickly balanced the match and had chances to score, like in the beautiful play by Biel, who dribbled past three defenders and nearly opened the scoring.

However, the opening goal would come only in the second half, as a deflected cross by Alemão found Johnny, who struck the ball into the net to make it 1-0 for Inter at the 49th minute.

Bahia had several chances to equalize, with Thaciano missing an unbelievable goal-scoring opportunity, practically from under the goal line.

Inter also relied on a good performance by goalkeeper John.

In the dying moments, Inter launched a counter-attack, and Johnny unleashed another powerful shot. This time, the ball deflected off Bahia’s defense and fell cleanly to Wanderson, who scored the second goal at the 90+9th minute.

Inter breathes a sigh of relief after the tough Grenal defeat, but they may face another setback, and Mano Menezes’ position as coach could once again be threatened as they face América-MG in the Copa do Brasil, having lost the first leg 2-0. In the Brasileirão, the result helped Inter move away from the relegation zone, now sitting in 13th place.

Bahia will face Santos in the Copa do Brasil midweek in an open contest, as the first leg at Vila Belmiro ended in a 0-0 draw. In the Brasileirão, Bahia is in danger and currently occupies the 16th position.

Bragantino 2×0 Santos

Bragantino dominates Santos and wins comfortably at the Nabizão.

Bragantino took the field with: Cleiton; Andres Hurtado, Léo Realpe, Luan Patrick, and Juninho Capixaba; Matheus Fernandes (Jadsom), Lucas Evangelista, and Eric Ramires (Gustavinho); Helinho (Henry Mosquera), Eduardo Sasha, and Vitinho (Sorriso [Thiago Borbas]).

Meanwhile, Santos started with: João Paulo; Gabriel Inocêncio, Joaquim, Messias, and Lucas Pires (João Lucas); Rodrigo Fernández (Camacho), Dodi, and Lucas Lima; Ângelo (Weslley Patati), Deivid Washington (Bruno Mezenga), and Soteldo (Daniel Ruiz).

The match started with intense competition and strong marking, with both teams creating the best opportunities from turnovers.

Santos had their best moment early in the game, with chances from Ângelo, taking a shot from outside the box, and the main opportunity with Lucas Lima. In the 11th minute, Santos stole the ball and launched a counter-attack. Deivid played a through pass to Soteldo, who advanced into the box and passed to Lucas Lima, who had a chance to shoot but chose to pass, and Bragantino’s defense cleared the ball.

Massa Bruta had their chances and opened the scoring in the 30th minute. Sasha crossed the ball to Vitinho, who had time to control it and strike it forcefully. Goalkeeper João Paulo managed to touch the ball, but couldn’t prevent the goal.

From then on, it was all Bragantino, and João Paulo made several saves to prevent the score from widening. He made two fantastic point-blank saves in Eric Ramires’ attempts.

Despite the spectacular performance, the Santos goalkeeper couldn’t do anything to stop the second goal for the home team in the 75th minute. After Luan Patrick’s cross, Juninho Capixaba made a slight deflection, the ball hit the post, and went in, sealing the final score of the match.

With the result, Massa Bruta achieved their third consecutive victory and climbed to 10th position, surpassing Peixe, who now sits in 12th place.

Photo: Ari Ferreira/Red Bull Bragantino

Atlético-MG 1×1 Palmeiras

The Mineirão stadium was packed to witness one of the most anticipated matches of the round, with Atlético hoping to maintain their excellent streak of five consecutive wins, while Palmeiras sought a positive result to close in on the league leaders, Botafogo. Despite several controversies involving the referee, the game lived up to the quality and potential of both teams.

Galo started the game with: Everson, Mariano (Saraiva), Nathan Silva, Jemerson, and Rubens (Igor Gomes), Battaglia, Pavón, Zaracho, and Hyoran (Patrick), Hulk, and Paulinho. On the other hand, Verdão took the field with: Weverton, Marcos Rocha (Mayke), Luan, Gustavo Gomes, and Vanderlan, Zé Rafael, Gabriel Menino (Richard Ríos), and Raphael Veiga (Jhon Jhon), Artur, Rony (Endrick), and Dudu (Breno Lopes).

The match started at a high intensity, with Palmeiras taking control and attempting to keep possession in Atlético’s half, while Galo, upon recovering the ball, tried to launch quick counter-attacks to exploit their attackers’ speed against Palmeiras’ high defensive line.

The first big chance of the game came from a long-range shot by the young Vanderlan, who, after a good play by Dudu, unleashed a powerful strike just wide of the goal. Palmeiras continued trying to find spaces in Atlético’s defense through passing exchanges, but it was on a counter-attack that Palestra managed to break through.

After an attempted long ball by Galo, Gustavo Gomez intercepted it and played an excellent pass to Rony, who battled with Nathan Silva and Jemerson until he reached the area. There, in a bouncing ball situation, the Palmeiras forward skillfully adjusted his body and executed a beautiful bicycle kick into the back of the net—a magnificent goal by Rony! Unfortunately, to the disappointment of Palmeiras fans and football lovers, the goal was disallowed.

The VAR reviewed the play and deemed that Rony was slightly ahead of the Galo defender when the ball left Gomez’s feet. However, this decision caused a lot of controversy since the camera used by the VAR to draw the line was not positioned optimally, and it still seemed that Rony was level with the Atlético defender.

After the disallowed goal, Palmeiras maintained their intensity, particularly seeking to exploit through balls to the tireless Rony, who kept running relentlessly and posed a constant threat to the defenders of the mining club. Atlético, on the other hand, managed to execute good passing exchanges and trouble Palmeiras with fast transitions, while also relying on tactical fouls as one of their main defensive strategies.

The game was evenly matched, and chances continued to arise for both teams until, at the 44th minute, Gustavo Gomez made a misplaced pass in midfield, allowing the talented Pavón to receive the ball and advance towards the goal with some freedom. First, he pulled off a dazzling dribble against Gustavo Gomez and then, upon entering the penalty area and feeling the presence of Luan, he executed a beautiful cut inside, evading the defender, and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot into the back of the net—a fantastic goal by the talented Argentine winger. 1-0 Galo.

Palmeiras seemed to be slightly affected by the goal, but the halftime team talk must have been good because they returned to the second half with full determination to turn the score around. The Alviverde moved the ball well, while Galo became more compact, allowing fewer spaces.

After a beautiful exchange of passes and overlapping runs on the right side, the ball reaches Arthur with quality. He takes it to the byline and crosses it perfectly for Dudu, who heads it down as the playbook dictates, equalizing the score to 1-1. From that moment on, Galo raised their defensive lines and tried to take the lead, while Palmeiras continued to dominate the game.

Botafogo 2×0 América-MG

Botafogo wins again and increases their lead in the standings.

Botafogo started with: Lucas Perri, Di Placido, Adryelson (Philipe Sampaio), Víctor Cuesta, and Marçal; Marlon Freitas, Tchê Tchê, and Lucas Fernandes (Raí); Júnior Santos, Luis Henrique (Victor Sá), and Eduardo (Janderson).

Meanwhile, América-MG started with: Mateus Pasinato, Marcinho, Wanderson, Iago Maidana, and Danilo Avelar; Lucas Kal, Breno (Juninho), Emmanuel Martínez (Alê); Everaldo (Mateus Gonçalves), Felipe Azevedo (Mastriani), and Renado Marques (Aloísio).

The Brasileirão leader started the game strongly and opened the scoring in the 2nd minute. Di Placido crossed from the right, Júnior Santos anticipated and headed the ball past goalkeeper Mateus Pasinato.

With an early goal, Botafogo had a lot of composure and controlled the game, avoiding risks, as Lucas Perri only had to work in one play, a shot from Renato, but there was an offside in the opposing team’s attack.

In the second half, Fogão had a great opportunity. Júnior Santos started from midfield and passed the ball to Eduardo, who entered the box and hit the crossbar.

In the 14th minute, Eduardo provided a beautiful back-heel pass to Luis Henrique, who calmly dribbled past the goalkeeper and extended the lead for the home team.

Botafogo continued to create the best chances, always with an engaging passing game, putting pressure on the opposing goalkeeper.

With the result, Botafogo remains the leader of the Brasileirão, while América occupies the 19th position.

Photo: Botafogo

Table Brasileirão

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Written by Henry Miller, João Felipe Miller and Vitor Miller.