Raúl Cáceres hails Ba-Vi win, calls Santos tie a final | OneFootball

After the 2-1 win over Bahia, in the Brazilian Championship, Raúl Cáceres celebrated the result and emphasized the importance of securing victory in a tightly contested derby. The defender highlighted Vitória’s responsibility given their delicate position in the standings and praised the team’s performance at Barradão.

“We know our situation isn’t good. The teams above us in the table won, so we’re forced to win. And besides, it’s a derby—derbies have to be won, one way or another. I think we imposed ourselves at home and were deserved winners,” said the full-back, who scored Vitória’s second goal, to SporTV.

The win puts Vitória on 28 points, three behind Santos, the first team outside the relegation zone, while Bahia remains on 43 points, in sixth place.

Cáceres also looked ahead to the head-to-head clash against Santos, which takes place next round at Vila Belmiro, calling the match a true “final” for the Leão da Barra.

“Yeah, we know that from now until the end of the Brasileirão, every game is a final. So now it’s about recovering well and trying to play another great game there and bring the three points back to Salvador,” the player added.

In Thursday’s derby, Renato Kayzer opened the scoring for Vitória in the 26th minute of the first half from the penalty spot, and Tiago Souza equalized for Bahia in the 41st minute. In the second half, Raúl Cáceres secured the red-and-black victory by scoring in the 19th minute, capitalizing on a loose ball in the box and finishing first-time.

With the result, the Rubro-Negro head into the clash against the Peixe on a high, a direct relegation battle that could be decisive in the fight to remain in Serie A. The ball gets rolling at Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP), at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time) next Monday.

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