John Kennedy scores, but Fluminense held to draw by Bahia | OneFootball

On Thursday, Fluminense and Bahia drew 1-1 at Arena Fonte Nova in the second round of the Brazilian Championship. The team from Rio opened the scoring in the first half with John Kennedy. In the second half, the Tricolor de Aço equalized with Kike Olivera.

Standings

With the result, both teams reached four points in the Brazilian Championship. At the moment, Fluminense is in sixth place in the competition, while Bahia is right behind in seventh.

📋 Match Summary

🔴🔵 BAHIA 1 x 1 FLUMINENSE 🔴🟢⚪

🏆 Competition: Brazilian Championship🏟️ Location: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador-BA📅 Date: January 5, 2026 (Thursday)⏰ Time: 7 PM (Brasília time)🟨 Yellow Cards: Nionato, Lima, and Jammes (Fluminense)🟥 Red Cards: Dell (Bahia)

Refereeing

Goals

🔴🔵Bahia

Ronaldo, Gilberto, David Duarte, Santiago Mingo, and Luciano Juba; Acevedo (Caio Alexandre), Jean Lucas (Erick), and Éverton Ribeiro; Erick Pulga (Olivera), Ademir (Sanabria), and Willian José (Dell)

Coach: Rogério Ceni

🔴🟢⚪ Fluminense

Fábio, Samuel Xavier, Jemmes, Freytes, and Renê (Guilherme Arana); Martinelli (Lima), Nonato (Bernal), and Lucho Acosta (Ganso); Canobbio, Serna (Santi Moreno), and John Kennedy

Coach: Luis Zubeldía

Match Overview

Fluminense started the match with an offensive stance. However, Bahia was not intimidated and created the first chance at eight minutes. Erick Pulga crossed, the ball went past everyone and almost fooled Fábio, who sent it out for a corner. Then, Jean Lucas received a pass in the area and shot for a good save by the Rio goalkeeper. Fluminense stayed on the attack and scored at 19 minutes. John Kennedy played a one-two with Nonato and scored past Ronaldo.

Bahia pushed forward after the setback and almost equalized soon after. Nonato tried to clear the ball but gave it to Gilberto in the area. However, the defender shot very poorly. Fluminense responded with a shot from Lucho Acosta. At 25 minutes, the team from Rio missed an incredible chance. Nonato crossed low to Serna in the small area. The forward, alone, sent it over the crossbar.

In the second half, Bahia tried to apply pressure but continued with many passing errors. Fluminense started looking for counterattacks and created the first chance at nine minutes, with a shot from Lucho Acosta. The home team responded with a long shot from Acevedo that hit the crossbar. The match's pattern remained the same. The team from Rio almost extended their lead at 20 minutes. In a counterattack, Canobbio was stopped by a great save from Ronaldo. On the rebound, John Kennedy saw the Bahia goalkeeper prevent the goal.

Gradually, Bahia began to dominate the game. The home team surrounded the area and managed to equalize at 32 minutes. After a low cross, Fábio failed, and Oliveira just pushed it into the net. The goal motivated the Bahia team, who started pressing for a comeback. The home team almost turned the game around shortly after, with a shot from Dell.

However, the home team was reduced to ten men at 42 minutes. Dell fouled Freytes and was sent off after the referee was called by VAR. With the advantage, Fluminense managed the result to secure a point from Fonte Nova.

Upcoming Matches

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*By Gazeta Press

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