There was no lack of emotion to decide the second finalist of the Copa do Brasil — Corinthians beat Cruzeiro earlier — this Sunday night, at Maracanã. After Vasco won the first game of the semi-final 2-1, Fluminense found the strength to come back: 1-0 in normal time. But in the penalty shootout, Léo Jardim’s star shone, as he saved two penalties.
Needing to reverse the disadvantage, Fluminense would try to put pressure on Vasco from the beginning of the match. But this possibility only remained in the realm of imagination. Luis Zubeldía’s team found it difficult to exchange passes in midfield and had to resort to long throws to reach the attack.
Fernando Diniz’s team made a point of not “sitting on the result” and reaped the rewards by maintaining an offensive stance. After Rayan calibrated his left foot, Andrés Gómez, who had already stood out in the first confrontation, once again gave the Tricolor defense a hard time. Fast and skillful, the Colombian cleared two markers before shooting, which was difficult for Fábio to save. Before almost opening the scoring, the striker generated a yellow card for Samuel Xavier.
If Flu’s moves in the middle had no effect, the exit on the right side appeared as an alternative. Back after serving his suspension, Canobbio showed why he is an untouchable player with Zubeldía and was fundamental to the team’s reaction in the game. Exploring the back of the field, the Uruguayan was successful in a one-two with Samuel Xavier. As soon as the right-back received the ball, the number 17 threw himself into the corridor at speed.
No wonder, that was exactly how the equalizer came out. After Canobbio crossed with a cart, Everaldo deflected the first stick and hit the post. Afterwards, Paulo Henrique tried to cut in desperation, but caught the ball badly and threw it into his own goal. The right-back performed below expectations.
In the final stretch of the first half, there was still time for Vasco to rehearse a response. But Philippe Coutinho and Rayan stopped at an inspired Fábio. In the attacker’s dangerous move, the goalkeeper stretched himself to avoid a great free kick. And the scenario was repeated in the second stage. This time, Fábio came out on top again in the duel with Rayan, who tried to break through the “wall” with a strong head kick.
After Bernal came on for Nonato at the end of the break, Zubeldía didn’t even wait for 15 minutes to bring on John Kennedy and Ganso — Everaldo and Lucho Acosta left. After Kevin Serna blocked Paulo Henrique, the “kid from Xerém” was well positioned to make amends at first, but isolated in the finalization.
Diniz chose to make his first substitution after almost 30 minutes. Scorer of the turning goal in the first match, Pablo Vegetti fired up the Vasco fans at Maracanã. Despite this, the Argentinian did not change the game this time, while Fluminense was better in the final stretch of normal time, but failed to aim.
