Cruzeiro waste chances, held to goalless draw by Fluminense at Mineirão | OneFootball

In a balanced match on Sunday afternoon (9), Cruzeiro and Fluminense ended in a 0-0 draw at Mineirão, in a game valid for the 33rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The team from Minas Gerais struggled to turn their territorial dominance into goals and were stopped by the excellent saves of goalkeeper Fábio.

Even without repeating the good performances of recent rounds, Cruzeiro maintained their consistency and could have won given the chances they created. The team, in fact, had already secured a spot in the preliminary stages of the Copa Libertadores before the match.

The main opportunity for Cruzeiro came in the first half, when Kaiki made a great header and forced Fábio into a brilliant save—the ball even hit the post twice before going out. On the other side, goalkeeper Cássio also put in a solid performance, preventing Fluminense from scoring with dangerous shots from Lucho Acosta and Hércules, who hit the post at the end of the first half.

The Match

Fluminense started more alert at Mineirão and almost opened the scoring in the very first minute, when Serna forced Cássio into a good save. Shortly after, the Cruzeiro goalkeeper was called into action again to stop a shot from Lucho. As time went on, Cruzeiro balanced the play and began to pose more of a threat. In the 17th minute, Kaio Jorge shot across goal, Arroyo deflected in the middle of the box, and nearly found the back of the net.

The best chance for the Minas Gerais team came in the 36th minute, when Kaiki headed the ball onto the post, raising doubts as to whether it had crossed the goal line—but the referee let play continue. Fluminense also threatened at the end of the first half: in the 44th minute, Hércules hit the crossbar with a beautiful shot from outside the box.

The end of the first half still had a tense moment. Matheus Pereira struck Bernal in the face, causing heavy bleeding. The referee asked VAR to review the incident and did not punish the number 10, who had already received a yellow card.

The second half was much less eventful, with both teams struggling to create clear opportunities. Cruzeiro tried to assert themselves offensively, but were thwarted by the strong performance of goalkeeper Fábio, who kept the scoreline at zero at Mineirão.

Firm in the G-4

With the result, Cruzeiro remains solid in third place, reaching 64 points and staying among the top teams in the Brazilian Championship. Fluminense, meanwhile, remains in seventh place with 51 points, still competing for a direct spot in the next Libertadores.

Cruzeiro’s Schedule

In the next round, after the break for the last FIFA Date of 2025, Cruzeiro returns to the field on November 20 to face Juventude at Alfredo Jaconi Stadium, in Caxias do Sul.

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