Brasileiro: Palmeiras Has Company…
Bruno Romani | Oct 26, 2009 | Comments 0
…. Lots of it. After looking like the virtual champion of Campeonato Brasileiro, Palmeiras lost points and the chances of confirming the title. And with that, 4 clubs have now the chance of taking the title away from the side headed by Muricy Ramalho. In the 31st round of Brasileiro, Atletico-MG, Inter, Sao Paulo and Flamengo won their matches and are just a few step away from jumping to first (something that can happen in the next round).
On Saturday. Atletico-MG received Vitoria at Mineirao. The visitors had a solid defensive plan, which made things difficult for Atletico. But the side headed by Celso Roth counts on the good moment of Diego Tardelli, and the Brazil international scored when the fans in the stadium started to show signs of unhappiness. Tardelli now reaches 16 goals and is one of the top scorers of the league. In the second-half, Vitoria was the one closer to the goal, and forced Uruguayan goalie Carini to work. Carini was also lucky when one of the shots hit the post and ran over the line. At the end of the match, the referee gave a penalty to Atletico that did not exist. Diego Tardelli took it and missed. It did not make a difference. Atletico is one point away from Palmeiras.
Derbies
Inter, Sao Paulo and Flamengo won local derbies in order to get closer to the top.
In Porto Alegre, the Grenal (derby Gremio – Internacional) took place at Inter’s Beira-Rio stadium. With just 2 minutes, midfielder D’Alessandro tried along range. The ball bounced in front of Brazil international Victor and visited the net. It was enough for Inter. After that, the game followed with very few chances for both sides, which was better for Inter. Not only the red side beat its main rival for the 142nd time, but also now it seats just 2 points away from Palmeiras.
In Santos, the Sansao (the derby Santos – Sao Paulo) was the game of the weekend in Brazil. The match had a finals core that seems to belong to the 60’s: Santos 3 – 4 Sao Paulo. Santos scored with 3 headers – by Andre, Rodrigo Souto and Robson. If Santos took advantage of set-pieces (2 of its goals happened in corner-kicks), Sao Paulo took even greater advantage. Forward Washington scored in a corner as well (the last goal of the first-half, that ended 2-2). And midfielder Hernanes and goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni each scored from a free-kick. Later, Ceni was ejected in a arguable decision by the referee. But for Sao Paulo what matters is this: a sound victory against a great rival that put the club just 2 points away from the leader.
Finally, Flamengo played the derby against Botafogo for the first time at Botafogo’s Engenhao stadium. Bota, in general, played a better match, but it was clear the difference between a side that fights relegation and one that is after the title. Two names game the victory to Fla: Adriano and Bruno. The former created a goal by running over two defenders as if they were made of air (please check the video). The latter denied a penalty to Lucio Flavio in the end of the match. Not only Fla beat Botafogo for the first time in history at Engenhao or the club reached 10 unbeaten matches, but also it is just 3 points away from Palmeiras. And Adriano is one of the top scorers of the league with 16 goals.
This is what the top looks like: Palmeiras 54, Atletico-MG 53, Inter 52, Sao Paulo 52, Flamengo 51, Cruzeiro 48.
Title too?
Another club that should not be dismissed yet is Cruzeiro. The side from Belo Horizonte has the best campaign of the second portion of Brasileiro. If it was for the post-Libertadores depression, the club would be even closer to Palmeiras. On the weekend, the foxes visited Corinthians and won 1-0 goal by veteran and ex-Brazil international Gilberto.
Intense fight in the relegation zone
The weekend was terrible for Botafogo was all the other clubs fighting to stay at least a point. Besides that, Santo Andre, as it was known, beat Palmeiras last Wednesday.
In the Atletiba (the derby Atletico-PR – Coritiba), the home team, Coritiba, got an important victory to stay away from the bottom. The winning goal came only in the last minute and was scored by Marco Aurelio. Before him, Coritiba’s Ariel scored twice – one for each side. Defender Jeci scored the other goal for the home team, and Marcinho scored for Atletico.
The real bad result for Botafogo on the weekend was the victory of Nautico over Barueri 2-1. Bruno Mineiro was one more time the name of the match for Nautico. He scored one and gave an assist to Patrick. Marcio Careca scored it in the beginning of the second-half for Barueri. In the end of the match, Nautico missed a penalty through Carlinhos Bala, which drove coach Geninho crazy. He said Bala will be punished because he wasn’t supposed to take the penalty, but did anyways without the coach’s permission.
Sport and Fluminense did not have results that by themselves are bad. The problem is the actual moment of the two sides.
Sport visited the good side of Avai and jumped ahead with 2 goals in the first 7 minutes. Wilson and Luciano Henrique (with a long range) are the names of the goal. The home team, however, tied the match. Still in the first-half, Marquinhos, Avai’s playmaker, took a free-kick. In the second-half, Luis Ricardo scored after getting a cross from William.
Fluminense visited Goias, a side that up to that moment talked about lifting the trophy. And Goias started the match was if wanted to honor those claims. It jumped ahead with goals by Iarley and Romerito in the first 16 minutes. Still in the first-half, Mariano put Flu closer to the home team. With 13 minutes of the second half, Equi Gonzales took a free-kick and scored for Flu. The 2 goal draw was bad for both sides. One cannot leave the last position in the table, and the other said good-bye to the title.
This is what the bottom of Brasileiro looks like: Coritiba 37, Santo Andre 32, Nautico 32, Botafogo 32, Sport 29, Fluminense 27.
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