In a truncated game with few emotions, América-MG took advantage of the chance it had in the second half, with Henrique Almeida, and won the classic with Cruzeiro by 1-0, this Saturday (4) at Mané Garrincha, for the third round of the Mineiro Championship.
WHAT A WIN!!!! ??
AT THE MANÉ GARRINCHA STADIUM, WE WIN THE FIRST CLASSIC OF THE YEAR, 1-0, AND WE ARE 100% IN MINEIRO!!
THE GOAL WAS SCORED BY HENRIQUE ALMEIDA! ⚽#AFCxCRU | 1×0#PraCimaDelesCoelho #SomosVolt pic.twitter.com/VdLDfUG9oE
— America FC ✊? (@AmericaMG) February 4, 2023
With the result, Coelho continues with 100% success and leads Group B, with nine points. Raposa, on the other hand, lost the leadership of Group C. With a victory, a draw and a defeat, it remained with 4 points and was surpassed by Democrata de Governador Valadares, who tied 1-1 with Athletic Club last Friday (3 ).
goals annulled
Cruzeiro did not take long to open the scoring. At the 8th minute, Nikão gave a beautiful launch to Bruno Rodrigues who invaded the area, dribbled the goalkeeper, defender Maidana and finished for the goal. Despite the beautiful goal, the assistant correctly scored the striker’s offside.
The game looked like it would be exciting in the first half, but the truth is that América had a lot of difficulty passing even from midfield, while Cruzeiro bumped into Coelho’s strong marking and did little to threaten. In addition, both teams abused the fouls to prevent the opponent from advancing.
The truncated match was only to have an emotion again in the 32nd minute, in a wrong exit by Rafael Cabral. He tried to throw it to Nikão, but ended up delivering it to the feet of Aloísio, who kicked from the half moon in the left corner of Rafael Cabral. The ball skimmed the crossbar.
But that was it. A lukewarm, boring first half with a lot of difficulty for both teams. The second stage started differently. The Fox went on top of the Rabbit and almost opened the scoring after eight minutes. Bruno Rodrigues dominated in the middle of América’s defense, advanced and shot close to Matheus Cavichioli’s goal.
America responded three minutes later. After a corner kick, the ball fell to Ricardo Silva, who found Henrique Almeida alone on the left. The striker, who had just come on for Aloísio, kicked across and the ball took paint off Rafael Cabral’s left post.
The game stayed there and here. Cruzeiro almost opened the scoring with Nikão’s good arrival on the right. He tried the kick and the ball fell to Wesley, who risked left-handed, forcing Cavichioli to make a great save. The Fox arrived again with danger in the 21st minute. Bruno Rodrigues received a long throw from the right and crossed to the middle of the area. Wesley stretched all out to finish, but he didn’t reach.
Even with more possession of the ball, Cruzeiro had a lot of difficulty finishing. So it was up to América to make the first of the match, in the 32nd minute. After a wrong pass by Reynaldo, Coelho left at speed on the counterattack until the ball landed at Henrique Almeida’s feet. He dominated on the left and hit low, crossed, left-handed, in the left corner of Rafael Cabral.
América extended the score in the 44th minute. Gilberto lost the ball in front and Matheusinho launched a counterattack. He countered with Martinez and crossed for Henrique Almeida to finish with a header and score the second. However, the VAR (video referee) called the referee of the match accusing a foul on Gilberto at the beginning of the play. The referee annulled the goal and called the foul for Cruzeiro.
Despite the final pressure from Raposa, América held on and won in Brasilia.
In the next round, América will face Athletic next Tuesday (7), starting at 8 pm (Brasília time), at Joaquim Portugal. Cruzeiro, on the other hand, picks up Pouso Alegre, on the same day, at 21:30, on Independência.
