América and Atlético draw in fiery derby marked by chaos and VAR | OneFootball

The classic match between América-MG and Atlético-MG, played this Wednesday (21) at Independência, ended in a 1-1 draw. The game was part of the group stage of the Campeonato Mineiro and was marked by technical balance and heated tempers on the sidelines.

América opened the scoring just 14 minutes into the first half. After a corner kick taken by Eduardo Person, Gabriel Barros took advantage of a rebound from goalkeeper Everson and pushed the ball into the back of the net.

Galo’s equalizer came at the 29th minute of the first half. Igor Gomes hit the crossbar with a shot and, on the rebound, Reinier appeared unmarked to head the ball in and level the score.

The match saw moments of tension with the refereeing. Atlético even managed to turn the game around in the first half with a goal by Cuello, but the goal was disallowed by VAR after a review of a foul on goalkeeper Gustavo. The decision sparked outrage and resulted in yellow cards for coaches Sampaoli and Alberto Valentim.

At halftime, things heated up even more. Players from both teams got into an argument and there was a general brawl that even involved the coaches and security staff.

In the second half, Sampaoli tried to chase the win by bringing Hulk and Dudu onto the field. Atlético increased the pressure and had more possession, but ran into América’s defensive wall and some great saves from goalkeeper Gustavo.

With the result, América-MG remains the isolated leader of Group B, with 8 points. Atlético, meanwhile, is in second place in Group A with 4 points, trying to recover from an inconsistent start to the season under Sampaoli’s command.

In the next round of the State Championship, Galo will look to climb the table to secure a spot in the semifinals, while Coelho will try to maintain their unbeaten run and stay at the top of their group.

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