Zubeldía returns as Fluminense beat Grêmio 2-1 | OneFootball

Fluminense debuts with a victory in the 2026 Brazilian Championship. The tricolor overcame Grêmio 2-1 at Maracanã, with goals from Nonato and Lucho Acosta to secure the three points.

Luis Zubeldía's team had a great performance, managing to have broad control over the opponent throughout the match. The duel marked the debut of Savarino and the return of the Argentine coach at the helm of the team.

How the match went

First half:

Fluminense started the match pressing Grêmio, controlling the game. Just 4 minutes in, Acosta found a beautiful through ball to JK, but the forward shot at Weverton, who came out challenging the number 99. After this initial pressure from Flu, the duel became more balanced and quite scrappy, with both teams having significant difficulties creating dangerous chances. The tricolor still managed to finish with Lucho and Serna, but off target. On the Gaúcho side, the only dangerous chance came from Carlos Vinicius, who turned in the area but shot wide.

Second half:

Fluminense returned for the second half pressing and in the very first minute managed to open the scoring. JK made a good pivot inside the area, passed to Renê to finish, and on the rebound, Nonato completed into the goal. Even while winning, Zubeldía's team did not let the pace drop and remained better in the match. The tricolor came close twice with great danger with Martinelli and Canobbio, who were stopped by Weverton. At 15 minutes, Renê took a nearly ground-level corner kick outside the area and Lucho Acosta struck first-time to extend the lead at Maracanã.

The Team of Warriors continued pressing and playing better, but at 30 minutes, Gustavo Martins beat Freytes in the air and Carlos Vinícius completed into the goal. After the goal, the Gaúcho tricolor even attempted a comeback and almost equalized with Gustavo Martins, who missed an unbelievable goal. Meanwhile, Fluminense tried to break away on the counterattack but ended up making mistakes in the final pass.

Next match

Fluminense returns to the field next Sunday (01) to face Botafogo. The match is scheduled for 8:30 PM at Nilton Santos Stadium, for the fifth round of the Carioca Championship.

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