Author: Vishwajit Sawant
Gremio – Cuiabá – 2:0
In a thrilling match at the Arena in Porto Alegre, Grêmio beat Cuiabá 2-0 in the 22nd round of the Brazilian Championship. The match began with Cuiabá showing a promising start (the goalkeeper saved Rikelme’s shot on the bounce). But Grêmio’s Luis Suárez opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a powerful shot. Despite Cuiabá’s best efforts, Rikelme scored an own goal in the 62nd minute to seal Grêmio’s victory.
This victory lifted Gremio to third place in the league with 39 points, guaranteeing a place in the G4. Grêmio have one game in hand (the rescheduled match against Corinthians). If they win, they could move up to second place and reduce the gap to leaders Botafogo to nine points.
Corinthians – Palmeiras – 0:0
Palmeiras, semi-finalists in the Copa Libertadores, were hoping to close the gap on leaders Botafogo to eight points, but… Corinthians, semi-finalists in the Copa Sudamericana, were against them.
In a much-anticipated Brazilian Championship clash at the Neo Química Arena, the teams played out a goalless draw. Although Palmeiras had more possession, they struggled to penetrate the Corinthians defense. One memorable moment was a kite flown by fans, temporarily interrupting the game with a cheeky message for Palmeiras.
With this result, Palmeiras are in second place with 41 points, trailing leaders Botafogo by ten points. Meanwhile, Corinthians, currently in 12th place with 26 points, celebrated their 113th birthday with tributes before the game. The main players, Renato Augusto and Dudu, didn’t play.
Fluminense – Fortaleza – 1:0
The Copa Libertadores semi-finalists hosted Copa Sudamericana semi-finalists Cuba in Volta Redonda and came away with a narrow 1:0 victory. The only goal of the game came 21 minutes into the second half, when left-back Diogo Barbosa took advantage of a rebound and shot powerfully into the bottom corner of João Ricardo’s goal. Although Fortaleza had 19 shots on goal, they failed to score. With this victory, Fluminense have climbed to fifth place in the Brazilian league standings with 38 points, while Fortaleza are in eighth place with 32 points.
América MG – Santos – 2:0
In a decisive match for both teams, América-MG beat Santos 2-0 in the 22nd round of the Brazilian Championship at the Arena Independência. Rodrigo Varanda opened the scoring for América-MG in the 29th minute, and the victory was sealed with Juninho’s goal in the 56th minute. The victory marks América-MG’s second in a row and lifts them off the bottom of the table with 16 points. Santos, on the other hand, remain in the relegation zone in 17th place with 21 points.
Bahia – Vasco – 1:1
In a match valid for the 22nd round of the Brazilian Championship, Bahia and Vasco drew 1-1 at the Arena Fonte Nova on Sunday night. The match marked the debut of Frenchman Dimitri Payet for Vasco, an important signing for the club this season. Despite Payet’s presence, it was Pablo Vegetti who scored for Vasco from the penalty spot, leveling the score after Ademir had opened the scoring for Bahia at the end of the first half. This result keeps both teams in precarious positions, Vasco in 18th place with 17 points and Bahia in 16th place with 22 points.
Cruzeiro – Bragantino – 0:0
Trying to break their winless streak, Cruzeiro missed a real chance in the 67th minute when Filipe Machado hit the post from outside the area. Two minutes later, Papagayo fell in the visitors’ area, but the referee didn’t award a penalty.
As for Bragantino, Sorriso hoped to open the scoring at Mineirana in the 76th minute, but Rafael Cabral cleared the ball, which flew into the top corner.
With this result, Cruzeiro remain in 12th place with 26 points, while Red Bull Bragantino maintain their position in the top six, in 6th place with 36 points. The two teams will return to action after the FIFA break, with Cruzeiro facing Santos and Red Bull Bragantino taking on Grêmio on September 14.
The match between São Paulo and Coritiba has been postponed from September 3 to September 27. It starts at 19:00 (Brasília time).