Fábio shines at Mineirão, Fluminense held by Cruzeiro amid VAR drama | OneFootball

Fluminense drew 0-0 with Cruzeiro on Sunday afternoon (9th) at Mineirão, during the 33rd round of the Brazilian Championship.

The first half, despite having no goals, was full of excitement: there was a ball hitting the crossbar, Fábio saving everything, and controversy in the refereeing. Fluminense was dominant in the initial minutes and created some chances, but without much threat.

Photo: Lucas Merçon/FFC

Cruzeiro took a while to appear, but when they did, they scared the tricolor defense. In the best chance for the celestial team, Kaiki headed the ball onto the post, and it almost went into the goal, but Fábio cleared it off the line. The tricolor goalkeeper also made a point-blank save from a shot by Matheus Pereira and a dangerous long-range attempt. Fluminense responded with a beautiful shot by Hércules that hit the crossbar. Shortly after, the midfielder almost scored again after a mistake by the opposing defense, but Wiliam cleared it off the line.

In the end, there was still time for controversy. Matheus Pereira, who already had a yellow card, hit Bernal's face with his elbow during a Cruzeiro counterattack. The elbow struck the Uruguayan hard, and he had to be substituted under concussion protocol. The referee himself asked to review the play on VAR and determined that the Cruzeiro player did not intentionally elbow, and therefore did not deserve to be sent off.

In the second half, the pace slowed down. The teams were more "hyped," the players visibly more worn out, and the referee was frequently interrupting the game.

On Fluminense's side, Zubeldía bet on a new offensive trio, bringing in Soteldo, Keno, and John Kennedy. Meanwhile, Cruzeiro brought in Gabriel Barbosa to pose more threat to the tricolor area. Even with fresh blood, the teams couldn't break through the opposing defense, and the game ended goalless.

With the result, Fluminense remains in seventh place, now with 51 points, maintaining a comfortable distance from the main competitors for the G-7.

Fluminense's next match is after the FIFA Date, in the classic against Flamengo, on the 19th (Wednesday), at 9:30 PM, at Maracanã, for the 34th round of the Brazilian Championship.

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