Matheus Pereira and Gerson: with the recipe back, Cruzeiro can cook again | OneFootball

Last Sunday, Cruzeiro looked like that guy who leaves home determined to throw a barbecue and forgets the meat. This Thursday, in Curitiba, it only took bringing back two key ingredients for the recipe to work again. Matheus Pereira and Gerson returned. Coincidence? Hard to believe. When both are on the pitch, Cruzeiro simply plays a different kind of football.

The 1–0 win over Coritiba had more sweat than flair, more hard work than inspiration, but championships are won that way too. After all, no one hands out trophies for artistic merit.

Cruzeiro started better, saw Coritiba level the match, piled up blocked shots, wasted chances, and had the fans thinking the ball had entered into a serious relationship with the Paraná defense. It was a festival of blocks. It seemed like every Cruzeiro shot had to fill out a form before reaching the goal.

Then, in the 20th minute of the second half, what many had been expecting finally happened. Gerson floated in a perfect ball to the edge of the six-yard box, and Matheus Pereira appeared like someone who knows the address with his eyes closed. Goal. Simple, precise, and absolutely revealing.

Neither of them played against Botafogo. Both came back. Both delivered.

There are important players. There are fundamental players. And then there are those whose absence the fans feel even before the ball starts rolling. Matheus Pereira and Gerson belong to that last category. Right now, they are Cruzeiro’s two technical pillars. When one is missing, the team feels it. When both are missing, the football needs a doctor’s note.

After taking the lead, Cruzeiro did what a mature team needs to do: controlled the game. It didn’t dazzle, didn’t turn goalkeeper Otávio into a candidate for hero of the round, and didn’t go around putting on a show. It managed the match. And managing the match is also an art for any team that wants to compete for titles.

The win also confirms something that is no longer a coincidence: nine unbeaten matches away from Belo Horizonte, with five wins and four draws. Cruzeiro has decided it feels more comfortable away from home than many tourists do in a five-star hotel. Some teams struggle on the road. Cruzeiro seems to fill up its confidence tank precisely away from home.

Not everything ended in smiles, though. Gerson left the field complaining about the back of his thigh, raising concern for a medical department that is already busier than an emergency room on a Monday. Sinisterra will undergo surgery, Gabriel Pec remains out after a fractured leg, and any new injury sounds like a bill arriving on the last day of the month: no one wanted that news.

Meanwhile, the lack of reinforcements continues to lay bare the reality of the squad. Felipe Moraes, a promising youngster, got his chance but missed an unbelievable goal from inside the six-yard box. It is part of the learning process, but it also shows that talent and responsibility do not always move at the same speed. Kaique Kenji came on later, showing that the bench is still forcing Cruzeiro to speed up processes that should happen more calmly.

Bruno Rodrigues, meanwhile, produced a moment that summed up his current situation. He broke away alone, had a clear path to shoot, and chose instead to pass to Matheus Pereira, who was already closely marked. It was not cowardice. It was something perhaps even more worrying for a striker: a lack of confidence. A No. 9 lives on goals. When he starts asking permission to shoot, the problem stops being technical and starts living in his head.

Now the focus shifts completely. On Sunday, there is Chapecoense at Arena Condá in the Copa do Brasil. On Wednesday, the decider will be at Mineirão. Cruzeiro arrives strengthened by the win, but also reminded of a truth that tonight’s match laid bare: some players are replaceable. Others are simply irreplaceable.

And Matheus Pereira and Gerson made sure to make that very clear with just one cross and one finish.

Angel Drumond

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