Grêmio Avenges Loss to Tolima, Moves Into First Place

Tuta made his presence felt upon his return to the starting lineup, scoring the games only goal as Grêmio avenged its loss to Deportes Tolima. The win, Grêmio’s first at home in the Libertadores Cup, snapped a five-game winless streak against Colombian teams dating back to 1996. Grêmio (7 pts) now leads Group 3, winning the tiebreaker over Tolima (7 pts) thanks to an away goal scored in its opener against Cerro Porteño. The Tricolor will return to Libertadores Cup action on April 11th when they travel to Colombia to face Cúcuta (3 pts). Tolima will play Cerro Porteño (4 pts) the day prior.

Facing its first must-win situation of the year, Grêmio began the game pressuring Tolima. In the first five minutes, the Tricolor had produced two serious scoring chances. But after withstanding the initial onslaught, Tolima began to make things more difficult for the Gaúchos. Playing with only one forward, the entire Colombian team created a wall in front of its own goal. It was only the skill of the opportunist Tuta that prevented Tolima from leaving Porto Alegre with a 0-0 tie. In the 21st, Ramón crossed in a low pass from the right. Tuta, with his back to the goal and a defender hanging on him, stopped the ball with his right foot, spun around and shot with his left. The ball slid into the right corner as the crowd erupted in ecstasy: Grêmio, 1-0. It was only Grêmio’s second goal of the competition and broke a two-game shutout streak.

But Tolima was not content to sit back. The Colombians went on the attack and put a couple of scares into the Grêmio defense. The Tricolor players were clearly on edge as evidenced by a near fight between Edmílson and Tcheco. The two were caught by the television cameras having a heated discussion just after the halftime whistle. Had William not broken them up, they may have come to blows.

Mano Menezes must have pulled his squad together in the locker room because the team that began the second half was not the same that ended the first. Grêmio suffocated Tolima, producing several scoring chances. In the 1st minute, Julio barely managed to keep a shot by Ramón from going in. In the 17th, Lucas missed a header against a keeperless goal, sending the ball wide left. But just as it did in the first, the Tricolor dropped in production in the latter part of the second half. In an attempt to regain the momentum, Mano pulled Ramón and a tired Tuta in favor of Diego Souza and Douglas. The move had little affect as Tolima continued to pressure. Grêmio did have another chance to ice the game, but Douglas showed why he’s the backup after missing on a header from inside the small area. Mano finally put in Teco to help the defense hold out. The game ended with Tolima pressuring, Grêmio on its heels and the crowd very apprehensive.

Grêmio may have won the match, but they left much to be desired. If this display against an inferior opponent is the best the Tricolor can muster at home, then they will not go far in this competition. Plain and simple, Grêmio does not have a very good team. It has a few playmakers, like Tuta, Lucas and Tcheco, but also others that have no business being starters on a Libertadores Cup contender. Patrício, Lúcio and Ramón are liabilities, and Carlos Eduardo is not progressing as one would have hoped. Luckily, Gavilán and Kelly are waiting to join the team if it manages to qualify for the playoffs, but a qualified backup for Tuta is still needed. Grêmio suffered two straight shutouts when he was out with an injury. The Tricolor cannot afford to be in that situation once the playoffs begin.

Grêmio (1)	Deportes Tolima (0)
Tuta (21')
Tcheco (24') Edmilson (26') William (31') Lúcio (33') Schiavi (75') Lucas (77')	Patiño (19') Cuenú (43') González (50')
Venue:  Olímpico Stadium, Porto Alegre (RS)
Grêmio: Saja; Patrício, Schiavi, William and Lúcio; Edmilson, Lucas, Tcheco, Carlos Eduardo (Teco, 86') and Ramón (Diego Souza, 77'); Tuta (Douglas, 69'). Coach: Mano Menezes	Deportes Tolima: Julio; Vallejo, Cambindo, Cuenú and Sinisterra; González (Rolong, 64'), Patiño, Anchico (Quintero, 82'), Escobar and Charría; Perlaza. Coach: Jaime De La Pava