Thaciano shines as Santos beat Cruzeiro, secure their place in Série A | OneFootball

Santos remains in Serie A of the Brazilian Championship. This Sunday, in the last round of the tournament, Peixe defeated Cruzeiro 3-0 at Vila Belmiro. The goals for the home team were scored by Thaciano, twice, and João Schmidt.

Standings

The Alvinegro Praiano finished the 2025 Brasileirão in 12th place, with 47 points. The team, which entered the last round still at risk of relegation, secured a spot in the 2026 Copa Sudamericana.

Cruzeiro, on the other hand, opted for an alternative lineup due to the Copa do Brasil semifinal, and finished the competition in third place, with 70 points.

From booed to cheered

The standout of the afternoon was Thaciano, a surprise in Juan Pablo Vojvoda's starting lineup. The attacking midfielder was even booed by fans before the match started, but turned things around by scoring two goals in two minutes in the first half. As a result, he ended up being cheered.

MATCH SHEET

⚪⚫ SANTOS 3 X 0 CRUZEIRO 🔵⚪

🏆 Competition: Brazilian Championship (38th round) 🏟️ Venue: Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP) 📅 Date: December 7, 2025 (Sunday) ⏰ Time: 4:00 p.m. (Brasília time) 👥 Attendance: 15,068 💰 Revenue: R$743,978.75 🟨 Yellow Cards: Thaciano, Guilherme (Santos); Rayan, Gabi (Cruzeiro) 🟥 Red Cards: None

Refereeing

Goals

Santos

Gabriel Brazão; Igor Vinícius, Adonis Frías, Zé Ivaldo and Souza; João Schmidt (Bontempo), Willian Arão (Tomás Rincón) and Neymar; Barreal (Rollheiser), Guilherme (Robinho) and Thaciano (Tiquinho Soares)

Cruzeiro

Léo Aragão; Fagner, João Marcelo, Jonathan Jesus and Kauã Prates; Walace (Murilo), Matheus Henrique, Japa (Ryan Guilherme) and Eduardo (Arroyo); Rayan (Kaique Kenji) and Gabigol (Bolasie)

How the match went

Pushed on by the fans, Santos tried to pin their rivals back from the start. The first shot came at 12 minutes. Guilherme made a good play down the left and played it back. Neymar shot wide. Moments later, the attacking midfielder turned provider. From a corner, the number 10 crossed low and Barreal finished just wide to the left.

On the other side, Cruzeiro gave Santos a scare the first time they attacked. Gabigol struck beautifully and went off to celebrate. However, the striker was offside.

At 25 minutes, Vila exploded with joy. Guilherme took a tight corner and Thaciano, the main surprise in Vojvoda's lineup, headed it in to open the scoring. Two minutes later, the second goal came. This time, Igor Vinícius played a one-two with Neymar and crossed low into the box. Thaciano appeared unmarked to finish and send the Santos fans wild.

Even with the lead, the home side kept creating chances. At 38 minutes, Guilherme took advantage of a loose ball in the box and shot first time. The ball went between Léo Aragão's legs and hit the post. The number 11 had another chance at 47, but was stopped by the goalkeeper.

2nd half

After the break, Cruzeiro managed to score again, but it was also disallowed. Rayan got in behind the defense, rounded Brazão, and scored. However, the striker was offside.

On the other side, Santos kept threatening and got their third at 14 minutes. Guilherme took a corner and Schmidt headed it in.

At 30 minutes, Cruzeiro had their third goal disallowed, once again for offside. This time, Eduardo was the one in an irregular position.

In the final minutes, Peixe simply managed their lead to celebrate the victory.

Next Santos match

Next Cruzeiro match

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