Ex-Benfica striker with a howler in Santos v Remo (video) | OneFootball

Gabigol once again had a night to forget in Santos service. The former Benfica striker missed a glaring chance in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 16 against Remo (0-0), producing one of the most talked-about moments of the match. As a reminder, the forward played for the Eagles in the 2017/18 season, in an unremarkable spell at the Estádio da Luz before returning to Brazilian football.

The Brazil international found himself in an excellent position to score in the first half, but ended up missing in surprising fashion. The chance looked so clear that coach Cuca actually got up from the bench to celebrate the goal, only to react in disbelief at the No. 9’s miss.

The former Eagles player’s performance also failed to impress the Brazilian press. Ana Canedo, a journalist for GE, gave the striker a rating of 5, saying he once again wasted too many chances.

"He missed countless goals, just as he had in the previous match. He was heavily involved, looked to stay in contact with the ball, but at times ended up hurting the team’s rhythm by drifting too far out of the box. He had several opportunities, but once again fell short," the journalist wrote in her match analysis.

Despite the criticism, Cuca chose to defend Gabigol in the press conference, noting that every match brings different challenges and showing confidence in a response from the player: "Every game has its own story. Tuesday will be different, just like Sunday. We’re managing the players and, little by little, we’ll find the ideal team to keep the work going. Depending on the match, they can play together. I know numbers mean little without results, but we controlled the game and positioned ourselves correctly. Only the goal was missing," said the Santos coach.

Watch the chance missed by Gabigol:

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