Vasco off to their worst Brasileirão start in 7 years | OneFootball

Vasco fans have statistical reasons to be concerned about the start of their journey in the 2026 Brasileirão. The defeat to Bahia confirmed a scenario that hadn’t been seen at São Januário in seven years: the club has collected only one point in the first three rounds of the competition. The current performance matches the negative record set in the 2019 season, raising the alarm for the board and coaching staff in the early weeks of the tournament.

The campaign so far has been marked by instability and a lack of results. The debut was a loss to Mirassol (2-1), followed by a draw against Chapecoense (1-1), and the recent home defeat to Tricolor de Aço (1-0). This string of setbacks has left the Gigante da Colina in 18th place, already appearing in the relegation zone.

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Comparison with 2019 and lessons from the past

The parallel with 2019 is inevitable and brings back memories of a difficult year. On that occasion, under the command of Alberto Valentim, the team also started poorly, losing to Athletico and Atlético, as well as drawing with Corinthians. The winless streak in that edition dramatically extended until the seventh round. The first victory only came in the eighth game, against Internacional, starting a slow recovery that culminated in staying in Série A.

Photo: Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF

Vasco faces immediate pressure to react

Although history shows that it’s possible to turn things around, the underwhelming offensive performance and defensive errors in 2026 increase the pressure for quick changes. The next challenge to try to stop the crisis will be far from Rio de Janeiro.

On February 26, the team travels to face Santos at Vila Belmiro, needing to earn points to prevent the ghost of 2019 from gaining even more strength.

The last memory against Santos was a happy one: 6×0 with Coutinho shining – Photo: Matheus Lima/Vasco

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