Grêmio Falls at Vila Belmiro

As expected, Grêmio fell to Santos at Vila Belmiro Stadium, where they have only won once in their history. The 1-0 setback dropped Grêmio (48 pts) into third place behind Santos (49 pts) but, more importantly, put the Brazilian title out of reach. Grêmio now trails first place São Paulo (56 pts) by 8 points and, with only ten games left to play, has no realistic shot left of catching the Tricolor Paulista.

Grêmio’s strategy consisted of sitting back, waiting for Santos to make an error, and then respond quickly on a counter-attack. At first the tactic worked as Grêmio produced the first scoring chance in the 22nd minute. Santos goalkeeper Felipe made a bad pass that was intercepted by Ramón, who then passed to Hugo on the left side. The midfielder advanced into the area but shot wide. Santos responded in the 35th off a set play. Cleber Santana’s free kick exploded off the crossbar and to Domingos, who headed the ball into the back of the net: Santos, 1-0. Following the score, the Fish controlled play until the first half ended.

Grêmio was determined to play more offensively in the second half, but their plans came to an end quickly. In the 3rd minute, Hugo and Domingos got into a scuffle and both were sent off. The loss of Hugo greatly affected the Tricolor’s ability to create plays as Santos was able to neutralize any Grêmio advance. The Tricolor did have one final opportunity, a corner kick in the 48th, but Alessandro’s header went over the crossbar. Soon thereafter, the referee sounded the final whistle. Grêmio’s Brazilian title hopes were dead.

The result of this game was not unexpected. Grêmio has traditionally struggled at Vila Belmiro, where Santos is 11-2-1 this season. It was the unfortunate setback against Goiás that really hurt. If Grêmio had won that game, it could have afforded to lose to Santos. Now, the Tricolor must concentrate on securing a Libertadores Cup berth. As it appears that Internacional will finish in the top four, Grêmio only needs to finish in the top five to achieve its goal. And, with a 7 point lead over sixth-place Cruzeiro, that goal is almost a lock.

Santos (1)	Grêmio (0)
Domingos (35')
Heleno (36') Domingos (49')	Pereira (41') Hugo (48') Bruno Teles (79') Alessandro (83')
Venue:  Vila Belmiro Stadium, Santos (SP)
Santos: Felipe; Domingos, Ronaldo and Luiz Alberto; Denis, Heleno, Cleber Santana, Rodrigo Tabata (Carlinhos, 63') and Kléber (André, 83'); Rodrigo Tiuí and Jonas (Renatinho, 75'). Coach: Wanderley Luxemburgo	Grêmio: Marcelo Grohe; Patrício, Pereira, Evaldo and Bruno Teles; Sandro, Jeovânio (Alessandro, 72'), Tcheco, Ramón (Herrera, 54') and Hugo; Rômulo (Ricardinho, 67'). Coach: Mano Menezes