Galo and Cruzeiro play out a fiery derby, honours even | OneFootball

Atlético-MG and Cruzeiro drew in a lively and tense derby this Wednesday (15th) at Arena MRV.

Matheus Pereira opened the scoring for Raposa early in the second half, and Ruan equalized shortly after.

Following the equalizer, the league’s top scorer, Kaio Jorge, was sent off for making a theft gesture with his hands.

Even with a numerical advantage for most of the final stage, Atlético could not turn the game around.

Cruzeiro has now gone four rounds without a win in the Brasileirão and, even with one more game played, is eight points behind leaders Palmeiras.

Atlético-MG is currently eight points above Vitória, the first team in the relegation zone.

The Match

The first half at Arena MRV saw the home team with the best chances to score.

Atlético-MG was more aggressive in attack and posed a threat, especially with shots from Gustavo Scarpa and Bernard.

But what stood out most in the opening stage of the derby were the confusions caused by referee Paulo Cesar Zanovelli.

He showed the wrong card in two different incidents in the same minute. In both situations, he initially showed a red card and quickly corrected himself by pulling out a yellow.

The goals were “saved” for the second half and didn’t take long to come after the break.

Just two minutes into the final stage, Gabriel Menino tried to play the ball back but ended up setting up Kaio Jorge.

Face to face with Everson, the top scorer wasn’t selfish and passed to Matheus Pereira, who tapped it into the empty net.

The equalizer came soon after, from a set piece.

Galo took a quick corner and Guilherme Arana crossed the ball into the box, finding Ruan’s head, who finished into the net.

While Atlético players were celebrating, Kaio Jorge made a theft gesture with his hands and was shown a red card, leaving Cruzeiro with one man down.

Galo couldn’t take advantage of the numerical superiority to turn the score around, and the match ended in a draw.

Schedule

Atlético-MG

10/18 - Corinthians vs Atlético-MG (Brasileirão)

10/21 - Independiente del Valle vs Atlético-MG (Copa Sudamericana)

10/25 - Atlético-MG vs Ceará (Brasileirão)

10/28 - Atlético-MG vs Independiente del Valle (Copa Sudamericana)

11/02 - Inter vs Atlético-MG (Brasileirão)

Cruzeiro

10/18 - Cruzeiro vs Fortaleza (Brasileirão)

10/26 - Palmeiras vs Cruzeiro (Brasileirão)

11/01 - Cruzeiro vs Vitória (Brasileirão)

11/05 - Grêmio vs Cruzeiro (Brasileirão)

11/09 - Cruzeiro vs Fluminense (Brasileirão)

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

📸 Pedro Vilela - 2025 Getty Images