League blown wide open as Grêmio crash at Portuguesa
October 20, 2008 at 20:44 2 comments
- Dagoberto scores vs Palmeiras
Second-half goals from Ediglê and Edno gave strugglers Portuguesa three vital points against Grêmio and reduced the Porto Alegre side’s lead at the top to just one point. See the highlights here
Grêmio now have Cruzeiro and Palmeiras breathing down their neck and São Paulo and Flamengo are only 3 and 4 points behind.
With just 8 games to go and the situation so tight, it’s still anybody’s guess who will take the Brasileiro and who will be heading to Série B.
In a weekend packed with derbies, Cruzeiro disposed of Atlético Mineiro 2-0 in the estádio Mineirão with goals from Jonathan and Guilherme for his 16th of the season.
But the most dramatic encounter of the weekend came at the Palestra Itália where Palmeiras crossed swords with archenemies São Paulo. Palmeiras looked purposeful in the opening exchanges but then Léo Lima upended Jean in the area and Rogério Ceni struck from the penalty spot. Before the game restarted, Palmeiras’ Diego Souza and São Paulo’s Borges were sent off by referee Sálvio Spinola for nothing more than jostling in the centre circle – all this in the first 7 minutes. Palmeiras continued to dominate and Marcos was a virtual bystander as Ceni was tested time and again. But Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s team were caught by a sucker punch just before half-time when Palmeiras lost possession in midfield and Dagoberto ran at goal before curling the ball home. São Paulo took control after the break and seemed certain of the points until Palmeiras mounted a late comeback. First, ex São Paulo man, Kléber, prodded home from close range after Ceni failed to stop the ball crossing the area. And then 2 minutes later, Leandro’s free-kick took a wicked deflection off Dagoberto and Palmeiras were level. See the highlights here
Flamengo remain in touch after a 1-0 win vs Vasco. Fla, though, had to rely on an own goal by Jorge Luiz for the points. The defeat kept Vasco at the bottom.
A top four finish for Botafogo looks more remote after they lost 1-0 at home to Santos. Molina’s goal secured the Vila Belmiro outfit only their second away win of the season.
Internacional climbed three places in the table after they overcame Atlético Paranaense 2-1 in the Beira-Rio. Inter though need to win all their remaining games if they are to stand any chance of making the Libertadores places. Atletico remain in the bottom four alongside Fluminense, Ipatinga and Vasco.
See the table and all the results here
See all the goals here
Entry filed under: Campeonato Brasileiro 2008. Tags: Brazilian football, Grêmio, Palmeiras, poll: who will win the Brasileiro 2008?, Portuguesa, São Paulo.
1. Jonathan | October 22, 2008 at 02:16
I really couldn’t predict who is going to win it, but something tells me that Gremio are going to blow it. Their form of late is just a bit too shaky. Cruzeiro or Palmeiras, maybe?
2. Martin | October 22, 2008 at 23:44
I’ve always been partial to Sao Paulo since the days Tele Santana coached the team but the current squad’s way of playing is so far removed from those swash buckling days that my interest in the club has waned. I was torn between picking they or Cruzeiro as the likely league winners this year but opted for Cruzeiro and their more open attack. Curiously those are the two leading vote getters as I learned after I voted so I am not alone in thinking Cruzeiro and Sao Paulo are the leading contenders. Curiously nobody as of now has voted for Flamengo!!