São Paulo are the new leaders in the Brasileiro
November 8, 2009 at 20:39 3 comments
Fred on target for Fluminense against Palmeiras
With just four games remaining in the championship, holders São Paulo went top for the first time this season following their 1-1 draw away to Grêmio on Wednesday and Palmeiras’ 1-0 defeat at Fluminense on Sunday.
Almost 67,000 turned up at the Maracanã hoping for a miracle as strugglers Fluminense took on Palmeiras. Palmeiras needed a point to return to the top – Flu have been in the relegation zone since round ten. In a tight first period, the Greens thought they had gone in front when Obina headed home. But surprisingly referee Carlos Eugenio Simon ruled against the frontman. Fred stuck early in the second-half for the homeside to secure three vital points and Palmeiras were knocked off the top of table for the first time since round 15.
Over 64,000 packed the Mineirão as Atlético Mineiro took on Flamengo in Belo Horizonte. A win for Celso Roth’s men and a loss for Palmeiras would have seen Galo move to first place for the first time since round 14. With only nine minutes on the clock, Flamengo went ahead direct from a corner swung in by Petkovic. The Rio outfit then doubled their lead when Maldonado dummied the Atlético defence before hitting a low drive past Carini. Atlético got back in the game in the second period when the experienced Ricardinho latched on to a loose ball in the area. But Fla secured the points when Adriano beat the defence and his header hit Benitiz before going in.
With the win, Flamengo leap-frogged over Atlético to move into third place – just two points behind the new leaders São Paulo.
On Saturday, Cruzeiro came from two goals down away at Sport Recife to win 3-2.
Thiago Ribeiro, Leonardo Silva and Guerron were all on target as Cruzeiro moved to 5th.
Internacional slipped further behind the pack after being held 1-1 away at Barueri.
At the wrong end of the table, Corinthians beat Santo André thanks to an excellent strike from Ronaldo and a goal from Dentinho.
Botafogo pulled of an important 2-0 win against Coritiba in the estádio Engenhão to move five clear of Fluminense who stayed in the drop zone.
Náutico also went down 3-1 at Santos as Neymar scored twice after coming of the bench.
See the Campeonato Brasileiro round 34 table and the rest of the results here
Entry filed under: Campeonato Brasileiro 2009. Tags: Adriano, Brazilian football, Campeonato Brasileiro round 34 2009, Cruzeiro, Fred Fluminense, Palmeiras, São Paulo.
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1. Richard Farley | November 9, 2009 at 22:56
Jon: We didn’t cover this too much, but what has changed with Flu? Two scalps in the last two weeks: Cruzeiro and Palmeiras. And that doesn’t even consider their continental “exploits.”
Has anything significantly changed with structurally or organizationally for Flu? Because clearly, performance-wise, their in relegation-surviving form.
2. pitacodogringo | November 10, 2009 at 09:06
Hi Richard
the only real thing that has changed is that Fred is fit and scoring goals – eight in eight games i think – and that has made all the difference. but they’re still five behind Botafogo. they could still save themselves as they play Atlético/PR (H), Sport (A), Vitória (H) and Coritiba (A) – Flu could win the first three (they’ll almost certainly beat Sport and Vitória) and Coritiba will probably have nothing to play for on the last day so …..
3. Chris | November 10, 2009 at 16:44
The return of Fred has certainly been a big boost but the emergence of Digão in defence and the pacy Maicon up front has also helped. The excellent Conca continues to play out of his skin and Cuca deserves credit for some smart tactical changes particularly at half time in the Cruzeiro game.
There is also a new-found confidence in the team and I was very impressed by their courageous performance in Chile in the Sul Americana. For the first time this season the crowd is fully behind them and deservedly so. Mind you, I still think they’ve left it too late.