Cruzeiro take the lead, hold off Fortaleza and claim home win | OneFootball

Cruzeiro and Fortaleza faced each other on the night of this Saturday (18th), at Mineirão, in a match valid for the 29th round of the Série A of the Brazilian Championship. In a clash between the extremes of the table, the Fox was looking to end a four-game winless streak in the Brasileirão to stay firm in 3rd place, while Fortaleza, in the relegation zone, was trying to start a recovery.

For tonight's match, coach Leonardo Jardim could not count on three players: goalkeeper Cássio was following concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in the previous match, while Kaiki (third yellow card) and Kaio Jorge (sent off) were serving suspensions. Thus, Cruzeiro took the field with two changes in addition to those already expected:

First half

Cruzeiro started the match as expected, with intensity and pressing Fortaleza in their own half, which forced the tricolor team to look for counterattacks as their way forward. And it was Fortaleza who threatened first, with a cross from Mancuso and then from Pochettino, which was deflected by the Celeste defense. Soon after, Gabigol missed a clear chance, with no goalkeeper, after a cross from Christian: the number 9 arrived late and couldn't push the ball in.

With more possession and controlling the game, Cruzeiro had trouble finding their forwards in better positions. Arroyo was the one causing the most problems for Fortaleza's defense, being incisive and betting on individual plays to break the lines. The visiting team kept trying to finish on goal, but mainly with shots from outside the box.

Cruzeiro's pressure soon paid off: in a good play by Matheus Pereira, Arroyo got rid of his marker, reached the byline and, with great skill, set up Christian free inside the box, who only had to choose where to shoot to open the scoring: Cruzeiro 1, Fortaleza 0.

With a lot of energy on the flanks, both in attack and defense, Cruzeiro continued to control the match. Kauã Moraes and Kauã Prates repelled Fortaleza's main attacking chances, while Cruzeiro still struggled to create more big chances to extend the lead.

In the final minutes, the pace of the match slowed and some Cruzeiro mistakes began to appear, especially from Lucas Silva, who ended up setting up some good attacking plays for the opponent with passing and interception errors in the Celeste midfield. But the Fox managed to go into halftime with the lead.

Second half

The second half began with no changes to the team, which showed a sharp drop in intensity. With little creativity and a lot of effort to try to stop Fortaleza's attack, Cruzeiro saw the visiting team start to enjoy the game and open up their team to go forward in search of an equalizer.

The midfield errors continued and the Lion tested goalkeeper Léo Aragão at every opportunity, with shots from outside the box and lofted balls that threatened the Celeste goal. Arroyo remained the main outlet for the team down the left side, but the plays were not finished by Gabigol, who was positioned more outside the box and was rarely involved due to strong marking.

Jardim made his first changes at 17 minutes into the second half, with Eduardo replacing Lucas Silva and William, playing on his weaker foot, coming on for Kauã Prates. But even this did not help Cruzeiro regain control of the game; on the contrary, it was between the 18th and 35th minutes that Fortaleza had the most control and threatened the Fox, unable to equalize only due to their technical limitations.

Jardim also made the remaining changes throughout the match: Wanderson (for Arroyo), Bolasie (for Matheus Pereira), and Walace (for Christian) came on to balance the match, but little changed in context, with Cruzeiro only managing to create chances with shots from midfield.

Even under pressure, the Fox defended themselves—and counted on the opponent's lack of quality—to leave the rainy night at Mineirão with all three points. Final score: Cruzeiro 1, Fortaleza 0.

What's next…

Now Cruzeiro returns to a full week of preparation, focusing on the clash against the leader of the Brasileirão: the Fox faces Palmeiras next Sunday (26th), at 8:30 pm, at Allianz Parque, for the 30th round of the Brazilian Championship.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.