Cruzeiro beat Goiás and book a place in the Copa do Brasil last 16 | OneFootball

Cruzeiro are through to the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil. On Tuesday night at Mineirão, the team from Belo Horizonte beat Goiás 1-0 and secured qualification in front of their home fans. The winning goal was scored by Kaio Jorge from the penalty spot in the first half.

After a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Goiânia, Cruzeiro needed a simple win to stay alive in the competition. And that is exactly what they got with a dominant display for much of the match.

MATCH SUMMARY

The side coached by Artur Jorge started on the front foot and created the main chances of the first half. Kaio Jorge nearly opened the scoring after 15 minutes following a good move set up by Romero. Shortly after, Tadeu emerged as Goiás’ standout player, making a string of saves from headers by Fabrício Bruno, a shot by Kaiki and an effort from Matheus Pereira.

Kaique Kenji also threatened when he tried to chip the Goiás goalkeeper after a pass from Matheus Pereira, but the ball went out beyond the byline.

Cruzeiro’s pressure paid off after 30 minutes. Following a VAR review, referee Bruno Arleu de Araújo awarded a penalty for a handball by Ramon inside the box. Kaio Jorge sent Tadeu the wrong way and put Cruzeiro ahead at Mineirão.

Even after the goal, the Minas Gerais side kept creating chances. Kaio Jorge threatened again with a low drive across goal, while Kaiki nearly scored a superb chipped effort before halftime.

In the second half, Goiás tried to increase the pressure and began to spend more time in attack, especially after Lourenço, Anselmo Ramon and Bruno Sávio came on. Even so, Cruzeiro responded with pace and had good opportunities through Sinisterra, introduced by Artur Jorge during the second half.

The Colombian forward forced Tadeu into two great saves with shots from outside the box in the 19th and 20th minutes. Bruno Rodrigues and Villarreal also had chances to extend the lead, but the Goiás goalkeeper continued to prevent a bigger scoreline.

In the final minutes, Goiás pushed for the equaliser that would have taken the tie to penalties. Fabrício Bruno made a crucial intervention by blocking Esli García’s shot inside the box. Then, in the 49th minute, García himself hit the post with a placed effort in the visitors’ best chance late on.

Even with the pressure deep into stoppage time, Cruzeiro held on and secured their place in the Copa do Brasil round of 16 in front of more than 50,000 fans at Mineirão.

NEXT STEPS

In addition to qualification, Cruzeiro also secured a multimillion-real prize from the CBF for reaching the last 16 of the national competition.

With their place among the 16 best teams in the competition confirmed, Cruzeiro now await the definition of their next opponent in the Copa do Brasil. The round-of-16 draw will be held by the CBF in the coming weeks and will also determine which teams host each leg.

The matches in the next round will only take place after the suspension of the national calendar for the World Cup. The expectation is that the first legs will be played in early August, with the second-leg deciders scheduled for the following week.

Before turning their attention back to the knockout competition, Cruzeiro will refocus on the Brasileirão. Their next challenge will be against Palmeiras away from home, in a match scheduled for Saturday (16) at 9pm at Arena Barueri, for the 16th round of Série A.

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