At Mineirão, Cruzeiro keep long unbeaten run against Coritiba | OneFootball

After a season start marked by ups and downs, Cruzeiro enters the week focused on recovery in the Brazilian Championship. Last Sunday (02/01), the team secured an important 1-0 victory over Betim in the Campeonato Mineiro, with a last-minute saving goal scored by Matheus Pereira. This result brought relief and kept their chances of qualifying for the state semifinals alive.

The debut in Série A happened in the worst possible way. In the opening round, the team led by Tite suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Botafogo at the Nilton Santos stadium, a result that intensified criticism and increased the need for an immediate reaction.

As a result, the match against Coritiba, on Thursday (5th), at 9:30 PM, at Mineirão, becomes even more important. Besides the three points, which would be crucial to ease the pressure and put Cruzeiro back in the fight for better positions in the standings, Raposa has not been defeated by Coritiba at the Gigante da Pampulha for almost 22 years.

The last time the club from Paraná won at Mineirão was in July 2004, when they triumphed 3-0 in a match valid for that season’s Brazilian Championship. The game took place in the 12th round and Coxa’s goals were scored by Tuta, Laércio, and Ataliba. Cruzeiro was coached by Emerson Leão, and historic players such as Edu Dracena, Wendel, and Augusto Recife were on the field that day.

In 23 matches played in Minas Gerais, Cruzeiro has recorded 13 wins, eight draws, and only two losses against Coritiba in different competitions, including the Brasileirão, Série B, and Copa Sul-Minas.

Current decade marked by balance

In the current decade, Cruzeiro and Coritiba have faced each other four times in national competitions. There were two goalless draws, both in Belo Horizonte, a 3-0 Cruzeiro win away from home in the 2021 Série B, and a 1-0 Coritiba victory in Curitiba in the 2023 Brasileirão. Additionally, the celestial team will once again face a familiar figure, coach Fernando Seabra, who led the club for much of the 2024 Brazilian Championship.

Throughout all official competitions, the teams have faced each other 53 times: Raposa came out with 24 victories, there were 15 draws, and Coritiba won on 14 occasions, resulting in a positive balance of 10 wins for the Minas Gerais club. Offensively, Cruzeiro has scored 83 goals, while Coxa has found the net 60 times, resulting in a goal difference of 23 in favor of the celeste team.

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