Galo Champions 2024 Mineiro State Championship

Galo Champions 2024 Mineiro State Championship

Atlético Mineiro pulled off an impressive comeback against their biggest rival, Cruzeiro, inside the Mineirão stadium, further extending their dominance in the state tournament.

Join us as we take a look at both teams’ journey to the final match.

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The path to Galo’s 49th Minas Gerais Championship

When it comes to the Minas Gerais Championship, Atlético Mineiro has been asserting its superiority over the state’s opponents, especially its main rival, Cruzeiro, which has been undergoing a rebuilding phase since 2019, the last year of Raposa’s triumph.

Since then, Galo has secured five consecutive victories.

In this edition, the road to the final was not straightforward, even witnessing the departure of the great Luis Felipe Scolari during the journey, leading to Gabriel Milito taking over.

The team leading the competition almost from start to finish was Cruzeiro.

The Minas Gerais Championship has its first phase divided into three groups.

In Group A, Cruzeiro dominated and secured the top position with 19 points.

In Group B, Galo secured 14 points to claim the top spot, while América-MG led Group C with 18 points.

Thus, in the first phase, Atlético Mineiro had the lowest position among the group winners.

For the semifinals, the first-placed teams, as mentioned, along with the best second-placed team, which happened to be Tombense with 15 points, more than Galo itself, qualified.

The matchups were Cruzeiro vs. Tombense and Atlético Mineiro vs. América-MG.

Neither of the teams had an easy journey to secure their spots in the final.

Cruzeiro drew the first game 0-0 and won the second 3-1 inside the Mineirão.

Meanwhile, Galo, amidst its coaching turmoil, won the first leg 2-0 against América but lost the second 2-1 in a game that ended in controversy.

Thus, once again, Galo and Cruzeiro faced each other in the final of the Minas Gerais Championship.

The first leg took place at the Arena MRV, Atlético Mineiro’s new home. The game was a true epic.

Galo took the lead 2-0 playing beautiful football. Special mention to defender Bruno Fuchs, who scored an impressive goal.

Despite this, Cruzeiro didn’t give up and managed to equalize the match.

And so, the two biggest teams in Minas Gerais went to the final.

Image: Meia Hora

Cruzeiro 1 – 3 Atlético Mineiro

After the beautiful celebration by Galo’s fans at the Arena MRV, it was the turn of the Cabuloso fans to celebrate.

Due to their better performance in the tournament, Cruzeiro had the opportunity to play the decisive match at home and lift a state trophy after five years, potentially stopping Atlético’s streak.

The expectations were high, especially after the historic comeback in the rival’s home and the chance to decide with home advantage.

It’s also important to note that in case of a draw, Cruzeiro would win the title, having the best overall performance.

The first half was quite tight and uneventful, except for a chance early on at 7′, when Paulinho was set up one-on-one with Rafael Cabral but missed the target.

The first half ended 0-0. The excitement was reserved for the second half of the game.

Galo’s already challenging situation worsened at 53′. Matheus Pereira received the ball inside the box and delivered a spectacular cross to his namesake, Matheus Vital.

The midfielder, positioned at the far post, headed the ball into the top corner, a beautiful goal.

However, Cruzeiro couldn’t handle the lead, and Galo knew exactly how to respond.

At 65′, another fantastic header, this time by Atlético, with Saravia.

Otávio received the ball in the midfield and delivered a beautiful pass to Saravia. The full-back made a surprise run into the box. He headed the ball with the top of his head, beating Rafael Cabral with a superb finish.

The result still favored Cruzeiro, but Lucas Silva, a club idol, committed a penalty in an infantile moment after a cross from Igor Gomes.

The incident was clear. Igor Gomes, who had just come on as a substitute, was played on the wing by Gustavo Scarpa, who had also just entered the field. The midfielder slid in to cross the ball, and Lucas Silva blocked it with his arm fully extended in a unnatural movement.

Hulk took the penalty kick and executed it perfectly, despite Rafael Cabral diving the right way.

With this, Galo turned the game around and had the scoreline to secure the pentacampeonato.

Desperate as the game reached its 75th minute, Cruzeiro launched into attack but in a disorganized manner.

Clearly, the strong pressure from Raposa led to some opportunities, with the most concrete one coming at 83′, with a goal from Dinenno.

However, the assistant referee flagged offside, which was confirmed by VAR.

In stoppage time, Cruzeiro threw all players forward in an attempt to equalize, which would bring the title back to Toca da Raposa. As a result, the defense was completely exposed.

It was easy for Paulinho to assist Gustavo Scarpa, who dribbled past goalkeeper Rafael Cabral and sealed the deal. Galo 3-1, pentacampeão and 49-time winner of the Minas Gerais Championship.

Image: Fernando Moreno/AGIF

Curiosities of Galo Champions 2024 Mineiro State Championship

At the moment of celebration after the third goal, when everything was decided, Guilherme Arana approached Cruzeiro’s fans and started gesturing crying, rubbing his hands over his eyes.

Clearly, the Raposa fans were extremely annoyed.

Another interesting point was the goal scored by Gustavo Scarpa.

After a year and a half and 21 games for Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos, the midfielder failed to score any goals.

Already with Galo, he had played another 11 games without finding the net.

His last goal was against América-MG in November 2022 when he played for Palmeiras.

Finally, Gabriel Milito, with only two games for Galo, clinched his first official title after nine years as a coach.

Image: Pedro Souza / Atlético

Written by Vitor F L Miller.