Cruzeiro 4th in second-half form, close to Palmeiras, Flamengo | OneFootball

After ten matches played in this second half and with nine rounds remaining until the end of the Brasileirão, Cruzeiro maintains its good momentum and continues strong in the fight for the top positions.

In third place, with 56 points, the celestial team is five points behind the leader Palmeiras and Flamengo, which is in second place. According to the table organized by the UFMG Mathematics Department after 10 rounds of the second half, Cruzeiro holds the 4th best campaign, behind Mirassol, Flamengo, and Palmeiras. The team scored 19 out of 30 possible points, with a 63.3% success rate. Mirassol, ahead by one point (20), has 66.6%, while Flamengo has 21 and Palmeiras 22, with 70% and 73.3% success rates, respectively.

This campaign leaves the spot in the Libertadores very well on track for the celestial club. After the victory over Fortaleza last Saturday (18), and with the closing of the 29th round of the Brasileirão, the team practically secured its presence in the next edition of the Libertadores. According to the latest projections from UFMG, there is a 99.88% chance of securing a spot in the continental tournament.

The victory against Fortaleza was important to end a winless streak of four matches in the Brazilian Championship, when they lost to Vasco and drew with Flamengo, Sport, and Atlético-MG. The moment of instability resulted in debates about the team's drop in performance in the final stretch, something acknowledged by coach Leonardo Jardim, who attributes part of this situation to the players' fatigue.

However, the second-half campaign was highlighted by the coach in the press conference after the victory to emphasize that the most important thing in a round-robin competition is consistency. Jardim noted that, compared to the same stretch of 10 games in the first half, the difference was only one point (19 to 20).

Cruzeiro will have a week of rest and preparation for the decisive match against Palmeiras, the Championship leader, at Allianz Parque. The game will be next Sunday (26), at 8:30 PM. In case of a celestial victory, the gap to the first place could decrease to two points with eight rounds remaining.

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