Cruzeiro held 0-0 by Santos, slip back to bottom of Brasileiro | OneFootball

Cruzeiro disappointed once again in the Brazilian Championship. This Sunday (22), at Mineirão, the team from Minas Gerais played to a goalless draw with Santos, in a match valid for the 8th round, extending their negative streak in the competition. The situation could have been even worse if the goal scored by Álvaro Barreal, already in stoppage time, had not been disallowed for offside.

Even with the support of more than 40,000 fans, the team, temporarily led by Wesley Carvalho, once again displayed uncreative football with little offensive capability. Throughout the 90 minutes, Cruzeiro had greater presence in the attacking half, but struggled with inefficiency and difficulty converting possession into clear chances.

THE MATCH

As time went on, Cruzeiro took greater control of possession and began to press more in the attacking third. The best chance for the home side in the first half came at the 27th minute: after a well-worked play down the right, the ball fell to Gerson inside the box, but his shot was stopped by a good save from goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão.

Shortly before halftime, the team from Minas Gerais threatened again with a shot that deflected off the defense and almost caught the Santos keeper by surprise. Santos, on the other hand, had a lackluster offensive performance and did not pose any real threat to Cruzeiro’s goal in the first half.

In the second half, the pace picked up. Santos tried a shot from outside the box with Christian Oliva, but without success. Cruzeiro responded immediately, creating their best opportunity: Kaiki reached the byline and crossed for Neyser to finish, forcing a great save from Brazão. Shortly after, from a corner kick, Kaiki himself found himself unmarked, but headed wide.

The home team kept up the pressure and continued creating chances, mainly with mid-range shots. Wanderson tried his luck from outside the box and forced another good save from Brazão. The Santos goalkeeper also did well coming off his line and in other plays inside the box, proving decisive in holding the result.

Santos only appeared in attack sporadically, such as with a shot from Benjamín Rollheiser that was saved by Matheus Cunha. In the final minutes, the São Paulo team even found the net with Álvaro Barreal, after an individual play, but the goal was disallowed for offside, confirmed by an irregular position at the moment of the pass.

Season Sequence

With the result, Cruzeiro reaches eight games without a win and sinks even further down the table. The team now occupies last place, with only four points, accumulating draws and defeats in a historically poor start to the points-based era.

The pressure is mounting on the squad and the management, who are betting on the arrival of Portuguese coach Artur Jorge to try to change the course of the season. The coach will have the FIFA break to prepare the team and will make his debut in the match against Vitória, again at Mineirão, on April 1.

Until then, Cruzeiro will have a period for adjustments, but with the urgency of a team already seeing the crisis deepen round after round.

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