Santos battling to avoid the drop in the Brasileiro run-in | OneFootball

Santos is going through a delicate spell in the Brazilian Championship and is trying to move away from the relegation zone. But Peixe hasn’t had an easy time doing so. In the last six games, the Santos squad has managed just one win and is only three points above the Z4. The team has 12 more matches ahead to try to avoid the worst.

Internally, Peixe believes it has shown a positive reaction under the coaching staff of Juan Pablo Vojvoda, despite the lack of results. Since the coach arrived, Santos has one win, four draws, and one loss. The latter came against Ceará (3–0) in the last round, the 27th matchday of the Brasileirão.

Santos tries to recalculate its route with Vojvoda’s arrival

Vojvoda is Peixe’s third coach this season. Before his arrival, Santos was led by Pedro Caixinha and Cléber Xavier. The former took charge in the Paulista, leading the team to the semifinals, but was dismissed after the third round of the Brasileiro, without a single win in the national tournament.

Cléber Xavier, in turn, came next and led Santos in 22 games before being relieved of his duties after two straight defeats, including a 6–0 thrashing by Vasco. Vojvoda arrived at Peixe at the end of August and is trying to steer the team in a different direction this season.

Ahead lies a decisive run against teams in the Z4, including Vitória and Fortaleza. Before that, there’s a clássico against Corinthians.

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Santos’ situation in the Brasileiro

Santos sits 16th in the Brasileirão with 28 points, only five more than Vitória, the first team in the relegation zone. Peixe has the FIFA date as an ally to prepare for the match against Timão. From now on, the club is treating matches like finals.

“Regarding the matches, we can’t pick and choose the schedule; we have to face every opponent as if it were a final, regardless of the rivals. Every game has the same importance, and we have to take action as soon as possible to get out of this uncomfortable situation,” analyzed Zé Rafael.

The relegation ‘ghost’ of 2023 haunts

Santos is in a year of reconstruction after playing in Serie B in 2024. The delicate spell in the Brasileiro has raised alarms at Peixe, which does not want to relive the ghost of 2023, when it was relegated. That year, the club collected just 43 points. This season, with 12 games left, Santos has 36 points available and needs to add at least 17 more to reach 45 and reduce the chances of relegation.

“It’s very difficult to make comparisons. I know the moment is similar to 2023, but we’ve been giving our best. A new staff has arrived; there’s still time, 11 games for five or six wins. Our team hasn’t put a run together yet, but we have the squad for it. We’ll go after it, so what matters isn’t how you start, but how you finish. Our team will give an answer to the fans, and I hope we can do that already against Corinthians,” reinforced Zé Rafael.

Next match

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