Santos display grit under Vojvoda, enjoy season’s longest unbeaten run | OneFootball

Santos has shown resilience at the start of Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s tenure as head coach. Last Wednesday, for example, Peixe fought back to secure a 1-1 draw against Grêmio at Vila Belmiro in the 26th round of the Brazilian Championship.

The Alvinegro Praiano fell behind in three of their last five matches but didn’t give up. The Santos squad went behind against Atlético-MG at Arena MRV in the 23rd round but managed to snatch a draw in the final stretch of the match thanks to a penalty goal by Tiquinho Soares.

Against Red Bull Bragantino, Santos even managed to turn the game around with goals from Lautaro Díaz and Barreal, but ended up conceding the equalizer around the 30th minute of the second half. And last Wednesday, Peixe fought for a 1-1 draw against Grêmio.

Ideally, of course, the team would never have to chase the score. Santos, however, still needs to find a better balance between offense and defense. The attack has created plenty of chances but has struggled with finishing. Meanwhile, the defense continues to suffer from individual errors.

In the draw against Grêmio, for example, Santos racked up 24 shots and created five big chances but scored only once. On the other side, the Tricolor Gaúcho had four shots and just one big chance, but managed to capitalize on the spaces in the Santos defense to score. The numbers are from Sofascore.

Longest Unbeaten Streak of the Season

Although the draw was not the ideal result, Santos has achieved its longest unbeaten streak of the season during the early days of Vojvoda’s work. The Alvinegro Praiano is now undefeated in five matches, with four draws and one win.

During this period, Santos won the derby against São Paulo 1-0 at Vila Belmiro, and drew with Fluminense (0-0 at home), Atlético-MG (1-1 away), Red Bull Bragantino (2-2 in Bragança Paulista), and Grêmio (1-1 at home). All matches were part of Série A.

Thus, Santos has achieved a 46.6% success rate, scoring five goals and conceding four in this stretch. What stands out, above all, is the high number of shots taken by Peixe. Adding up the five matches, the Santos team totaled 82 shots, according to Sofascore data.

Until now, Santos’ longest unbeaten run had been between February and March of this year. At that time, the Alvinegro Praiano won four consecutive matches in the Campeonato Paulista, beating Água Santa (3-1), Noroeste (3-0), Inter de Limeira (3-0), and Red Bull Bragantino (2-0).

Despite the unbeaten streak, Santos needs to get back to winning ways in the Brasileirão to increase the gap from the relegation zone. Peixe’s next match is against Ceará, away from home, this Sunday.

Santos’ Situation in the Brasileirão

With the draw against Grêmio, Santos remains close to the relegation zone. Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s team is in 16th place, with 28 points, three more than Vitória, who sit at the top of the relegation zone. The gap narrowed after the Bahia side’s 1-0 win over Ceará last Thursday.

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