Gabigol misses penalty and allows Santos to dream of returning to Libertadores

Santos entered the field on Monday night (6), still at risk of relegation in the Brazilian Championship. They beat Flamengo by 1-0 at Maracanã, ensured that they qualified for at least the Copa Sudamericana and started dreaming of an unlikely place in the Copa Libertadores.

The triumph in Rio de Janeiro was defined in a goal by Marcos Leonardo, in the second half. Former Santos player Gabigol had the chance of a draw, but charged a penalty at the bar and gave his old team a new goal in the final round of Nacional.

Fábio Carille’s men now total 49 points and, in 11th place, are free from the risk of falling to Serie B. To reach the Libertadores, they need to reach eighth place in the table, surpassing Ceará, Atlético-GO and América-MG, who have 50 points each.

Next Thursday (9), at 9:30 pm, Santos will face Cuiabá in Vila Belmiro. In an attempt to return to the main continental competition, they have to win and hope that none of the three teams ahead of them triumph.

At the same time, América-MG will play against São Paulo, in Belo Horizonte. Atlético-GO will also play at home, in Goiânia, against Flamengo. Ceará will face Palmeiras, in São Paulo.

The combination of results is not simple, but it is a possibility that most of the fans didn’t count on until Monday. Letting go of the risk of sticking was the priority, which was possible with a good and balanced game at Maracanã.

In the first half, the two goalkeepers worked well, and the video referee took action to nullify a goal by Pedro red for offside. In the final stage, the VAR acted in the opposite direction and validated a goal that had been considered irregular in the field.

On minute 12, Marcos Guilherme entered the area dribbling, with some freedom. His pass was not the most accurate, but Marcos Leonardo took advantage of it hitting his left foot. In a legal position, as seen in a video.

Flamengo started looking for the draw and found the best chance in a penalty kick committed by Kaiky in Vitinho. Gabigol hit João Paulo’s left post, at 23, and Santos managed to protect their advantage until the final whistle.

For the red-black formation, the result does not have great practical effects on the table. The team from Rio de Janeiro, which fired coach Renato Gaúcho after the defeat in the Libertadores final and has been temporarily directed by Maurício Souza, is already the Brazilian vice-champion.