Serie B 2023, the most disputed of all

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38th Round of Serie B

For the final round, 6 teams were battling for 2 spots in the top 4. This marked the first time, since the competition expanded to 20 teams in 2006, that so many clubs fought for promotion until the 38th round.

The champion, Vitória, clinched the title and promotion in the 36th round, while Criciúma secured their qualification in the 37th round.

In the final round, Juventude, Vila Nova, Atlético-GO, Novorizontino, Mirassol, and Sport dreamed of a place in the elite. Juventude and Vila Nova only needed to rely on themselves to secure promotion.

With games happening simultaneously, at every moment, a team would find itself among the top 4. Initially, Novorizontino scored in the 2nd minute and held the third position. On the other hand, Juventude and Vila Nova conceded goals, while Sport took the lead in a big win against Sampaio Corrêa. Therefore, at the end of the first half, Novorizontino and Sport were in line for promotion; however, by the end of the round, Juventude and Atlético-GO secured spots in the elite.

Ceará 1×3 Juventude

Juventude secured promotion by overturning a deficit to defeat Ceará away at the Presidente Vargas Stadium.

Ceará took the lead in the 17th minute with Janderson, but Juventude equalized in the first half with Erick Farias at the 42nd minute.

In the second half, Luiz Gustavo tangled with Saulo Mineiro, received a second yellow card at the 15th minute, and Juventude played with 10 men.

Juventude only depended on themselves for promotion, so they needed to regroup and seek a comeback with 10 players on the field.

With an extra man, Ceará pressed forward and even had a penalty awarded, but VAR intervened, and the foul was overturned.

In the next play, Vini Paulista dispossessed in midfield and set up Jadson. The midfielder advanced and struck hard to put Juventude ahead, a result that guaranteed the Jaconera team a place in the top tier.

At the 38th minute, Juventude sealed the match and scored their third goal. Mandaca delivered a low cross, and Ruan pushed it into the back of the net.

With the victory, Juventude returns to the top tier after being relegated in 2021.

Experienced Nenê and coach Thiago Carpini were the key figures for the Gaucha team in Serie B. The start of the competition hinted that Juventude’s participation would be limited to avoiding the bottom positions. In the first six games, there were five defeats and only one victory, leading to Pintado’s dismissal, and Carpini took over the coaching duties, suffering only 4 defeats in 32 games.

Photo: Gabriel Tadiotto/E.C Juventude

Nenê was the main signing of the season and delivered. Despite being 42 years old, the midfielder showed he had a lot left in the tank. He ended the competition as the team leader in the two main statistics, with 7 goals and 7 assists.

With Criciúma’s loss to Novorizontino, Juventude finished Serie B as the runner-up with 65 points.

Photo: Twitter/EC Juventude

Atlético-GO 3×0 Guarani

Atlético-GO depended on Vila Nova’s slip-up to secure their place in Serie A, and that’s exactly what happened. Rival Vila Nova was defeated by the bottom-placed ABC, while Atlético-GO did their job by winning 3-0 against Guarani at the Antonio Accioly Stadium.

At the 35th minute, Iago Teles made a tough challenge on Matheus Sales and was sent off without VAR consultation. In added time of the first half, Alix and João Victor clashed, and both were sent off.

At halftime, ABC led Vila Nova 2-0.

For the second half, Atlético-GO had 10 players, while Guarani had 9. With numerical superiority and needing a win for promotion, Jair Ventura brought on Dodô and took out Lucas Esteves.

The midfielder only needed 5 minutes to open the scoring after completing a corner play on the far post.

At the 8th minute, Dodô crossed, and Serie B’s top scorer with 14 goals, Gustavo Coutinho, headed it into the net.

In added time, Matheus Peixoto sealed the victory, completing a cross from Bruno Tubarão.

Vila Nova was defeated by ABC, and Atlético-GO fans could celebrate the return to the top tier. Atlético-GO climbed to Serie A the year after being relegated from the elite for the first time in the era of points-based competition (since 2006).

Coach Jair Ventura began his work at Atlético-GO only in the second half, with the team in 11th place. However, since his first press conference, he demonstrated belief in the squad’s potential to reach the national football elite.

Photo: Ingryd Oliveira/ACG

Thus, in the return leg, Atlético had the best campaign, followed by Vitória and Juventude.

Gustavo Coutinho finished as Serie B’s top scorer with 14 goals.

Atlético-GO secured promotion, finishing in 4th place with 64 points.

Photo: Victor Borges, Pera Photo Press/Gazeta Press

ABC 3×2 Vila Nova

Vila Nova only relied on their own strength to secure promotion to the top tier but was surprised and defeated by bottom-placed ABC.

The Tigre has not played in the top national league since 1985.

At the 13th minute, Thonny took a free-kick into the area, and captain Rafael Donato scored an own goal.

At the 41st minute, Thonny Anderson invaded the area from the left and shot into the goalkeeper’s corner to extend the lead.

In the second half, at the 33rd minute, Diego Renan crossed into the area, and Rafael Donato, with a header, reduced the deficit for Vila Nova.

At the 49th minute, the highlight of the game, Thonny Anderson scored from the penalty spot and, in the celebration, embodied the character Captain Nascimento from “Tropa de Elite” and shouted a phrase that became well-known in the movie: “No one is going up,” mocking Vila Nova’s situation.

Photo: Rennê Carvalho/ABC

At the 63rd minute, Rafael Donato scored a goal similar to the one he had previously scored, giving the final score to the match.

With the defeat, Vila Nova failed to achieve the long-awaited promotion to the top tier, and captain Rafael Donato apologized to the fans for the “tragedy” in Natal.

Vila Nova finished the championship in 8th place, with 61 points.

Novorizontino 2×0 Criciúma

Novorizontino faced the already qualified Criciúma and did their part, but they did not secure their spot in the top tier.

Just 2 minutes into the game, Novorizontino opened the scoring with Marlon. After a defensive error, Rômulo touched with his heel, and the midfielder placed the ball well, keeping the dream of promotion alive.

Photo: Gustavo Ribeiro/Novorizontino

Novorizontino doubled their lead at the 28th minute. After a corner kick, Rômulo struck from outside the box, hitting the angle and scoring a fantastic goal.

Novorizontino hoped for a stumble from Atlético-GO, which did not happen. Thus, the team from the interior of São Paulo finished the competition in 5th place with 63 points.

Tombense 0x1 Mirassol

In their first season in Serie B, Mirassol had a great campaign and narrowly missed out on promotion.

In the last round, they depended on a combination of results to go up.

They did their part and won against Tombense with a goal from Luiz Otávio, at the 44th minute of the second half. However, they finished in 6th place with 63 points.

With the defeat, Tombense was relegated to Serie C, finishing in 18th place with 37 points.

Sport 4×1 Sampaio Correa

Despite a promising start, in the last round, Sport was an outsider to secure a place in the top tier, as they depended on many results. The Lions won convincingly but relegated Sampaio Corrêa, failing to secure promotion.

Sport set a negative record for the season, staying in the top 4 for 26 rounds. In the era of points-based competition, no team spent so much time in the top 4 without securing promotion.

In the game, Sport opened with a 4-0 lead with goals from Wanderson, Gustavo Henrique (own goal), Fabrício Daniel, and Fabinho. Sampaio Corrêa scored a consolation goal with Ytalo from a penalty.

Ytalo scored 13 goals and was the second-highest scorer in Serie B. The forward had the highest goal contribution ratio for his team in the championship with 40%.

Sport finished the championship in 7th place, while the relegated Sampaio Corrêa ended their campaign in 17th place.

Ponte Preta and Chapecoense secure survival on the last round

Ponte Preta defeated the champion CRB 3-0, with 2 goals from Pablo Dyego and 1 from Paul Villero. They finished Serie B in 15th place with 42 points.

Photo: Reproduction/Marcos Ribolli/PontePress

Chapecoense won against the champion Vitória and stayed in the second division, finishing in 16th place with 40 points.

Photo: ND+

Serie B 2023 Table

Photo: Globoesporte

Written by Henry Miller.