On a poor team night, Cruzeiro fall to Vasco at São Januário | OneFootball

Cruzeiro and Vasco faced off on the night of this Saturday (27) at the São Januário stadium, in a match valid for the 25th round of the Série A of the Brazilian Championship. The Raposa entered the field seeking to stay in the fight for the top positions in the Brazilian Championship, while Vasco was looking for a positive sequence in the Championship and the second consecutive victory as the home team.

For tonight's game, Leonardo Jardim fielded a team with a key player missing, Villalba's suspension, placing Jonathan Jesus in defense. Another absence was on the bench: Gabigol, also suspended, could not participate in the match. Thus, Cruzeiro took the field as follows:

First half:

Cruzeiro started the match as per coach Leonardo Jardim's playbook: pressing the opposing team and trying to force an error from Vasco, which initially attempted to maintain possession and move forward as a unit. The game allowed both teams to reach the attack, mainly through forced errors on both sides.

Vasco came out on top in a play where Cruzeiro made two mistakes, the switched ball reached PH, due to a mistake by Kaiki, and the cross was precise for Rayan, who rose practically alone to score: Vasco 1-0 Cruzeiro at 7 minutes.

After the goal, the dynamics of the game changed significantly. Contrary to expectations, the team led by Fernando Diniz gave up possession to maintain low and withdrawn lines. Cruzeiro had offensive volume, but Matheus Pereira, the best player on the field, couldn't find his teammates to complement the plays. Wanderson was one of the most called-upon players but made many errors in finishing the plays.

Vasco threatened Cruzeiro mainly when they managed to connect counterattacks but had difficulties reaching the finish. Matheus Pereira continued, until the end of the game, being the main playmaker, but the ball did not reach the striker Kaio Jorge, who was well-marked by Vasco's defense.

With Cruzeiro pressing for an equalizer and Vasco trying to break quickly into the spaces left, the game ended without further goals and with Vasco ahead on the scoreboard.

Second half:

For the second half, Jardim made a change to the team, bringing in the young Arroyo in place of Wanderson, giving Cruzeiro even more offensive characteristics. Indeed, Cruzeiro managed to pose more danger to Léo Jardim with Arroyo appearing in the attack, while MP continued to be the team's great brain.

Cruzeiro missed great chances to equalize, one of them with Christian, receiving cleanly in the penalty area and sending it wide. In an attempt to change once more and provide more technical gain, Jardim opted to bring Matheus Henrique onto the field, playing on the right, in place of Christian, but what should have been a solution turned into a problem: in his first participation in the game, Matheus Henrique failed, allowing PH to steal the ball and go face to face with Cássio to score. Vasco 2-0 Cruzeiro at 15 minutes.

Another change was made shortly after, with Marquinhos coming in for Lucas Romero, pushing Cruzeiro even more forward. The Raposa continued to maintain pressure, with more players in the attacking field, but in decision-making, they constantly erred and squandered what could have been good attacking opportunities, while worrying about the counterattacks that also posed threats due to wrong decisions in the defensive sector.

The game maintained this rhythm until the end. Jardim used his last substitutions by bringing Bolasie and João Marcelo onto the field – Kaiki and Jonathan Jesus were taken off – the defender returned to the field after seven months sidelined due to a ligament injury.

Cruzeiro's pressure continued without results, and it was up to Vasco to maintain the score until the end of the game. The home team even posed more danger in injury time, with a shot saved by Cássio, but the score remained unchanged. Vasco 2-0 Cruzeiro.

What's next…

Now Leonardo Jardim's team prepares to face Flamengo, for the 26th round of the Brasileirão, next Thursday (2), at 8:30 PM, at Maracanã, in a game that could be crucial for the leadership of the competition depending on the sequence of the round.

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