Santa Cruz beat Maranhão to take the lead in the Série D semi-final | OneFootball

This Sunday, Santa Cruz defeated Maranhão 1-0 in the first leg of the semifinal of the Série D of the Brazilian Championship, taking the advantage for the return match. Renato scored the only goal of the match and secured the victory for the visitors.

Situation of the match-up

Both teams have already secured promotion to Série C of the Brazilian Championship. Now, they continue to fight for the national competition title.

📋 Match summary

🔵MARANHÃO x SANTA CRUZ🔴

🏆 Competition: Série D Semifinal (1st Leg) 🏟️ Venue: Estádio Governador João Castelo, in São Luís 📅 Date: September 14, 2025 (Sunday) ⏰ Time: 4:00 PM (Brasília time)

Goal

How the match went

The first half saw the home team with more control, creating good chances but lacking precision in finishing. Santa Cruz, on the other hand, had less possession and attacked less, but in their few opportunities, they posed a threat to the opposing goal.

Santa Cruz came back better for the second half and even found the net at three minutes, but the goal was disallowed by the referee. The visitors kept pressing and opened the scoring at the 32-minute mark. Renato took advantage of a loose ball in the box after a free kick and hit a beautiful volley to secure the win for Santa Cruz.

Next match

The teams will face each other again this Saturday, in the second leg of the Série D semifinal. The match kicks off at 7:30 PM (Brasília time), at Arena de Pernambuco.

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