This Battle Not So Memorable
Grêmio Easily Wins Rematch of “Battle of the Aflitos”

One year and eight months after the “Battle of the Aflitos”, where seven-man Grêmio beat Náutico 1-0 to win the Brazilian Championship – Série B, the Tricolor returned to the site of one of the most memorable games in the club’s history. For the players that lived through that epic contest - Galatto, Nunes, Patrício and Sandro Goiano – the memory was still fresh in their minds. Náutico’s fans hadn’t forgotten either and were hoping for revenge of some sorts. To their disappointment, Grêmio (24 pts) easily dispatched their squad 2-0 and moved into 3rd place in the Brazilian Championship standings. Náutico (10 pts) dropped from 19th into 20th place and remained on track to return to Série B.

Desperate to leave the relegation zone, Náutico went on the offensive early and forced Grêmio to sit back and defend. In the 4th minute, William lost the ball to Ferreira in the midfield, who then broke into the area. Saja left the goal line to meet him but was outmaneuvered by the Pernambucano. The game was kept scoreless only because William was able to recover from his error and cut off the shot.

Náutico continued to create scoring chances, but they couldn’t finish their offensive plays. Grêmio, on the other hand, got its first opportunity in the 30th but made it count. Tcheco crossed a free kick into the area and Tuta, who hadn’t scored in over two months, headed the ball into the net: Grêmio, 1-0. The score struck a blow to Náutico’s confidence as they were unable to maintain their earlier rhythm. Their only scoring chance for the remainder of the half came in the 46th when Ferreira shot wide after receiving a pass inside the area.

Náutico returned for the second half with the same intensity as the first, and with the same results. In the 4th, Saja defended a free kick from Sidney. In the 10th, Elicarlos dribbled past several defenders before curving his shot wide right. Nine minutes later, he took a more accurate shot that was defended by Saja. And in the 22nd, Ferreira headed the ball over the crossbar from point blank range.

Finally, Grêmio put Náutico out of its misery. In the 38th, Tcheco sent another free kick into the area to Carlos Eduardo, who directed a shot past Eduardo and into the left corner of the goal: Grêmio, 2-0. The game lacked the drama of the “Battle of the Aflitos”, but served the purpose of maintaining Grêmio in the Libertadores Cup qualifying zone. The Tricolor will now return home and puts its eight-game unbeaten streak on the line against 15th-place Atlético-PR.

Náutico (0)	Grêmio (2)
	Tuta (30') Carlos Eduardo (83')
Toninho (7') Tales (19') Acosta (38') Daniel Sobralense (84')	Gavilán (38') Adilson (63') Edmílson (84')
Venue:  Aflitos Stadium, Recife (PE)
Náutico: Eduardo; Toninho, Onildo, (Felipe, 55') and Breno; Sidny, Júlio César, (Marcelinho, 79'), Elicarlos, Acosta, Daniel Paulista and Tales (Daniel Sobralense, 34'); Ferreira. Coach: Roberto Fernandes	Grêmio: Saja; Patrício, William, Thiego and Itaqui (Leonardo, 57'); Gavilán, Adilson, (Edmílson, 77'), Diego Souza and Tcheco; Carlos Eduardo (Kelly, 84') and Tuta. Coach: Mano Menezes