Cuca returns as Santos and Cruzeiro share the spoils in the Brasileirão | OneFootball

This Sunday, at Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Santos and Cruzeiro drew 0-0 in the eighth round of the Brazilian Championship. The match marked coach Cuca’s return to Peixe after five years.

Standings Situation

With this result, Cruzeiro now sits at the bottom of the league table, with four points. On the other hand, Santos has seven points and is in 15th place in the Brasileirão.

📋 Match Summary

🔵⚪ CRUZEIRO 0 x 0 SANTOS ⚪⚫

 Competition: Brazilian Championship (8th round)  Venue: Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte (MG)  Date: March 22, 2026 (Sunday)  Time: 4:00 PM (Brasília time)  Yellow cards: Barreal (Santos), William (Cruzeiro), Gustavo Henrique (Santos), Matheus Pereira (Cruzeiro), and Rincón (Santos) Red cards: none 👤 Attendance: 43,252 fans

Refereeing

🔵⚪Cruzeiro

Matheus Cunha; William, Fabrício Bruno, Villalba, and Kaiki; Matheus Henrique (Lucas Silva), Gerson, Matheus Pereira, and Christian (Kenji); Arroyo (Wanderson) and Villarreal (Bruno Rodrigues). Coach: Wesley Carvalho

⚪⚫ Santos

Gabriel Brazão; Igor Vinicius, Lucas Verissimo, Luan Peres, and Escobar; Oliva (Rincón), Gustavo Henrique (João Schmidt), and Gabriel Menino (Rollheiser); Barreal, Moisés (Thaciano), and Rony. Coach: Cuca

How was the match?

First half

In the first half, the match was marked by balance between the teams and a battle for possession. The first big chance came at the 28th minute. Arroyo received the ball at the far post after a cross into the box and played it back to Gerson, who controlled it and shot against Gabriel Brazão’s movement, forcing the Santos goalkeeper to make a good save.

At 37 minutes, Kaiki made a good play down the left and set up Arroyo, who tried to cross into the box. Lucas Veríssimo deflected it along the way and almost scored an own goal, but the ball went just outside the net.

Second half

In the second half, Peixe came back stronger. Three minutes in, Rony tried from outside the box but sent it over the goal. Five minutes later, it was Christian Oliva’s turn to shoot dangerously close to Matheus Cunha’s goal.

At the 11th minute, Brazão made a miraculous save to prevent Cruzeiro’s first goal. After a well-worked play by the Minas Gerais team, Villareal received the ball in the six-yard box and shot against the Santos goalkeeper’s movement, who pushed it out for a corner. Gabriel would be called into action again at the 28th minute, after a low shot from Wanderson.

Near the end of the match, at 45 minutes, Rollheiser shot from outside the box but was stopped by Matheus Cunha. Throughout the entire match, this was the only shot on target by Peixe. At 50 minutes, Barreal even scored for Peixe, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Next Matches

Cruzeiro

Santos

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