Grêmio Makes It Six of Seven

Perhaps Grêmio should just play all its home game in Centenário.

Playing the final game of the three-game penalty imposed by the STJD, Grêmio beat Cruzeiro 2-1 in Caxias do Sul to remain perfect in its home away from home. The win, Grêmio’s sixth in its last seven games, maintained the Tricolor (35 pts) in 3rd place in the Brazilian Championship standings behind only São Paulo (39 pts) and Santos (35 pts). Cruzeiro (30 pts), once a fixture in the Libertadores Cup zone, dropped a spot into 8th place.

Grêmio did not have a very good first half. In addition to having to deal with the strong winds that were prevalent in Caxias do Sul, the Tricolor had to contend with the tenacious Cruzeiro defense. Jeovânio and Tcheco were unable to get the ball past midfield and to its front lines. To make matters worse, Léo Lima was forced to leave the game early with a calf injury and was replaced by Nunes. This freed Tcheco to play upfield, but it wasn’t enough as Fox goalkeeper Fábio hardly got his gloves dirty in the first 45 minutes. Cruzeiro, meanwhile, had an excellent opportunity near the end of the half when Geovanni shot wide after luring Marcelo Grohe out of his goal.

The game got better in the second half. Now playing with the wind, the Tricolor found it easier to advance the ball upfield. In the 6th, Patrício stole the ball at midfield and passed to Tcheco who, after juking Gladstone out of his socks, blasted from outside the area into the upper right corner of the goal: Grêmio, 1-0. The Tricolor was in control and continued to pressure, but it was Cruzeiro who scored next. The Foxes drew even in the 16th when Élber headed in a cross from Sandro: 1-1. Grêmio retook the lead for good two minutes later thanks in large part to Fábio. Following a Tcheco corner, Ramón’s header went between the legs of the goalkeeper after he was unable to hang onto the ball: Grêmio, 2-1. With the score and the wind in its favor, the Tricolor tightened its defense and worked down the clock to the final whistle.

Having served its three-game penalty at Centenário, Grêmio will finally get reacquainted with its fans when it hosts 6th-place Paraná at Olímpico. It will be the Tricolor’s first game in Porto Alegre since August 5th, a 1-0 win over Juventude. Grêmio will look to feed off the energy of its fans as it tries to avenge a 5-2 humbling at the hands of the the Tricolor Paranaense in the third round. Paraná, meanwhile, will try to avoid a crisis situation after having lost three straight, most recently a 4-0 humiliation by 13th Botafogo.

Grêmio (2)	Cruzeiro (1)
Tcheco (51') Ramón (63')	Élber (61')
Jeovânio (68')	Diego (87')
Venue:  Centenário Stadium, Caxias do Sul (RS)
Grêmio: Marcelo Grohe; Patrício, Maidana, Evaldo and Wellington; Jeovânio, Tcheco, Ramón (Herrera, 74'), Léo Lima (Nunes, 33') and Hugo; Rômulo (Rafinha, 89'). Coach: Mano Menezes	Cruzeiro: Fábio; Luizão (Kerlon, 68'), Gladstone and Teco; Michel, Élson, Leandro Bomfim, Wagner (Carlinhos Bala, 86') and Sandro; Geovanni and Élber (Diego, 78'). Coach: Oswaldo de Oliveira