Cruzeiro aim to end 16-year drought at Beira-Rio in Brasileirão | OneFootball

After just over a month without official matches because of the World Cup break, Cruzeiro return to action this week in the Brazilian Championship. The team coached by Artur Jorge visits Internacional at Beira-Rio, in Porto Alegre, in a clash that, beyond its importance in the standings, represents a chance to end a long-standing away taboo against Colorado.

Cruzeiro’s last win over Internacional at Beira-Rio came on May 9, 2010, when they won 2-1 in the opening round of that year’s Brazilian Championship. Raposa’s goals were scored by Kléber Gladiador, while Taison pulled one back for the home side.

In the nine matches played at Beira-Rio since that victory, the record heavily favors Internacional: seven wins for the team from Rio Grande do Sul and two draws. During that span, Cruzeiro scored only four goals and conceded 15, highlighting the difficulty they have faced in Porto Alegre over the last 16 years.

Despite the drought at Beira-Rio, Cruzeiro managed to beat Internacional away from home on two occasions during that period. In 2013, Raposa won 2-1 at Estádio Centenário, in Caxias do Sul. The following year, they won 3-1 at Estádio do Vale, in Novo Hamburgo. Both matches, however, took place while Beira-Rio was closed for modernization work ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

The match also marks the resumption of the official schedule after the World Cup stoppage. During the mid-season break, Artur Jorge used the period to organize friendlies and training matches, evaluate youth players, and integrate the new signings brought in during the transfer window.

For the match, the coach has gained new options in the squad with the arrivals of left-back Gabriel Rojas and forward Gabriel Pec, who are competing for places in the starting lineup. The coaching staff will also need to deal with the absences of Christian and Kaiki, who were transferred to Krasnodar, of Russia, and Como, of Italy, respectively, while trying to define the best setup for the rest of the season.

Besides their Brazilian Championship fixture, Cruzeiro will face a decisive run in the coming weeks, as they will also play in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil and the Copa Libertadores. Before turning their attention back to the knockout ties, however, the team faces a historic challenge: trying to beat Internacional again at Beira-Rio, something that has not happened since May 2010.Recent record since the last win at Beira-Rio: 2011Internacional 3×2 Cruzeiro 2012Internacional 2×1 Cruzeiro 2015Internacional 2×0 Cruzeiro 2016Internacional 1×0 Cruzeiro 2018Internacional 0x0 Cruzeiro 2019Internacional 3×1 Cruzeiro 2023Internacional 0x0 Cruzeiro 2024Internacional 1×0 Cruzeiro 2025Internacional 3×0 Cruzeiro

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