Grêmio Loses at Home to Figueirense

Despite all statements to the contrary, it looks as if Grêmio got caught looking ahead to its showdown with archrivals Internacional. Figueirense ambushed the Tricolor, jumping to a 2-0 lead and hanging on for a 2-1 win at Olímpico Stadium. It was only Grêmio’s second home loss of the Brazilian Championship and first since a 2-1 setback to Vasco on May 7th. The result leaves Grêmio (55 pts) in fourth place but still on track for a berth in the Libertadores Cup’s preliminary round. Figueirense (46 pts) remained in 10th place.

Grêmio simply did not show up for the first half. The players appeared distracted, erring easy passes and allowing Figueirense to control the tempo. The midfield was lost and the defense was only able to stop the Figueira’s attack with fouls. The visitors took the lead in the 20th when Galatto and Patrício miscommunicated over a lose ball near the back line, allowing Carlos Alberto to make an easy steal. He then crossed into the middle to Soares, who had only to guide the ball into an unguarded net: Figueirense, 1-0. They added to their lead twelve minutes later when Schwenck was taken down by Galatto and Cícero converted the ensuing penalty: Figueirense, 2-0.

The second goal proved to be the slap in the face that finally woke Grêmio up. On the ensuing kickoff, Tcheco broke into the area and was taken down by Tiago Prado. He converted the penalty to pull Grêmio within one in the 34th: Figueirense, 2-1. Grêmio pressured for the remainder of the half, forcing Andrey to make at least four difficult saves, but was unable to find the back of the net.

Grêmio returned with the same lineup for the second half. Grêmio pressured Figueirense, but its many erred passes prevented any serious scoring threats. Things fell apart in the 15th when Escalona received a second booking and was sent off. Minutes later, assistant coach Sidnei Lobo joined him after arguing with the referee. Down a man and behind on the score, Mano Menezes had no choice but to put in more strikers. Without Herrera, who was suspended for the game, Mano was reduced to using Aloísio and Pedro Júnior. Although both played hard, it was not Grêmio’s night. Indeed, the final score could have been much worse as Figueirense missed several excellent chances in the final 30 minutes. As it was, the game ended 2-1 for the Figueira. Grêmio can now fully concentrate on the Gre-Nal.

The loss was a blown opportunity to move ahead of Santos. Grêmio needs to finish ahead of the third-place Fish in order to advance directly into the Libertadores Cup group stage and avoid the preliminary round. Fortunately, Santos also stumbled, losing 3-2 to Juventude. The two teams are tied on points at 55, but the Fish hold the tiebreaker on greater goal difference. Grêmio needs a win against second-place Internacional on Sunday to maintain its chances of achieving its goal.

Grêmio (1)	Figueirense (2)
Tcheco (34' PK)	Soares (20') Cícero (32' PK)
Escalona (30') Galatto (31') Escalona (62')	Marquinhos Paraná (28') Tiago Prado (34') Carlos Alberto (43') Edson (66') Henrique (80')
Venue:  Olímpico Stadium, Porto Alegre (RS)
Grêmio: Galatto; Patrício, William, Pereira and Escalona, Jeovânio (Paulo Ramos, 85'), Lucas, Tcheco, Ramón (Pedro Jr., 75') and Rafinha (Aloísio, 65'); Rômulo. Coach: Mano Menezes	Figueirense: Andrey; Flávio (Luciano Sorriso, 87'), Chicão, Tiago Prado and Edson (Henrique, 69'); Rodrigo Souto, Carlos Alberto, Marquinhos Paraná and Cícero (Vinícius, 82'); Soares and Schwenck. Coach: Waldemar Lemos