Grêmio Can’t Hang On, Falls at Mineirão

Grêmio was unable to hang onto a 1-0 halftime lead and fell 3-1 to Cruzeiro at Mineirão Stadium. The loss, only Grêmio’s third of the year, snapped a six-game unbeaten streak that included a 2-0 victory over defending champion Corinthians in the Brazilian Championship opener. Grêmio (3 pts) is now in 11th place after two rounds of the Brazilian Championship and will hit the road again next weekend to take on Paraná. Cruzeiro (3 pts) is 7th and will face Figueirense in Florianópolis.

Grêmio played an excellent first half, picking up where it left off against Corinthians. A stifling defense and quick counter-attacks gave the Tricolor control of the game. In the 14th minute, Alessandro crossed from the back line into the area. Fábio mistimed his attempted save, leaving the ball at the feet of Ramón. His shot was stopped by a defender that was stationed in front of the goal, but Ricardinho got the rebound and put it through: Grêmio, 1-0. The Tricolor could have added to its lead with well taken Patrício free kick, but Fábio made a spectacular save. Cruzeiro, meanwhile, struggled to get anything going offensively and never seriously threatened Marcelo Grohe.

But then things fell apart in the second half. Despite dominating the game, Grêmio could not add to its lead as the Tricolor blew several scoring opportunities. This came back to bite them in the 20th when Fábio Santos threaded a pass in between two defenders to Wagner, who blasted home the equalizer: 1-1. Four minutes later, Wagner crossed from the left to Élber who out-leaped Evaldo and Pereira for the header and the lead: Cruzeiro, 2-1. Just like that, Grêmio’s well-played match disintegrated as the result of defensive lapses.

In the hopes of getting a tie, Mano Menezes pulled Alessandro and Jeovânio and put in Paulo Ramos and Pedro Júnior. Despite making Grêmio more offensive-minded, the Tricolor was unable to muster another score. Their fate was sealed in the 40th when Alecsandro took advantage of the space the defense gave him to head in the nail in the coffin. Final score: Cruzeiro, 3-1.

Cruzeiro (3)	Grêmio (1)
Wágner (65') Élber (69') Alecsandro (85')	Ricardinho (13')
Anderson (48')	Marcelo Costa (56') Evaldo (60') Paulo Ramos (82') Wellington (82') Nunes (93+')
Venue:  Mineirão Stadium, Belo Horizonte (MG)
Cruzeiro: Fábio, Jonathan, Edu Dracena, Luizão and Júlio César (Anderson, HT); Diogo, Fábio Santos, Francismar (Kerlon, 57') and Wágner; Gil and Élber (Alecsandro, 72'). Coach: Paulo César Gusmão	Grêmio: Marcelo Grohe; Patrício, Pereira, Evaldo and Wellington; Jeovânio (Pedro Júnior, 75'), Lucas, Alessandro (Paulo Ramos, 73'), Marcelo Costa and Ramón (Nunes, 86'); Ricardinho. Coach: Mano Menezes