Fluminense lose at Inter, miss chance to go second in Brasileirão | OneFootball

Fluminense were defeated 2-0 by Internacional on Sunday night at Beira-Rio, in the 14th round of the Brazilian Championship. Internacional’s goals were scored by Bernabei and Alerrandro.

The first half was hard to watch, especially for Fluminense fans. Zubeldía’s system with three center-backs, two wing-backs, two defensive midfielders and three forwards did not work. Even with more possession, the team showed little attacking variety and failed to trouble Internacional’s defense. On the other side, the home team was not impressive either, but they were efficient with the only big chance they created. In the 38th minute, Bernabei combined with Alerrandro and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The Argentine shot through goalkeeper Fábio’s legs to open the scoring.

After the break, Zubeldía abandoned the three-center-back setup and made two changes: Savarino and Serna came on for Jemmes and Canobbio. Just two minutes after coming on, the No. 11 threatened with a shot off the crossbar. Fluminense’s excitement, however, lasted almost no time at all. On the very next play, Internacional scored. Arana switched off defensively and allowed Vitinho to receive Carbonero’s pass and go through on goal. The Internacional forward shot, Fábio made the save, and Alerrandro pounced on the rebound.In the 22nd minute, Fluminense missed a golden chance to cut the deficit. Serna received a perfectly weighted pass from Savarino, went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and shot straight at Anthoni. Savarino showed up again in the next move with a dangerous long-range effort, saved by Internacional’s goalkeeper.Zubeldía still tried one last gamble by bringing on the towering Castillo to play alongside John Kennedy, a strategy that had worked in recent Brazilian league matches. This time, however, it did not pay off, and the forwards delivered quiet performances. At the final whistle, a small scuffle broke out after a disagreement between Samuel Xavier and Kayky, a former Fluminense player developed at Xerém. The full-back did not like the youngster’s showboating on the ball and went in with a hard challenge.With the negative result, Fluminense missed the chance to move into second place in the Brasileirão and remained in third with 26 points.Fluminense’s next match could determine the course of the season. In a delicate situation in the Libertadores, the team will visit Independiente Rivadavia in Argentina next Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. In the Brasileirão, Fluminense will host Vitória at the Maracanã next Saturday at 6 p.m.

Photo: Marcelo Gonçalves/FFC

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