Goals by Kaio Jorge and Lucas Romero set up Cruzeiro’s triumph, which put in its best performance under Leonardo Jardim.
After several attempts, coach Leonardo Jardim seems to have found a formula that worked for Cruzeiro. With the same lineup that drew away from home with São Paulo, Raposa played well and beat Bahia 1-1 this Thursday (17/4), at Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte. Midfielder Lucas Romero and forward Kaio Jorge (twice) scored the goals in the victory in the fourth round of the Brazilian Championship. With this result, Cruzeiro reached seven points and moved up to sixth place.
In the first minutes of the game, Raposa moved a lot in the offensive field, but was unable to put together a play that resulted in a shot. A ‘perfect’ opportunity to open the scoring came at 11’, when goalkeeper Ronaldo brought down Kaio Jorge in the box. The referee signaled a penalty, which was taken by number 19 himself. He missed the shot, which was saved effortlessly by Bahia’s goalkeeper, who held the ball and prevented an attempted rebound. Ronaldo went from villain to hero in a few minutes, but he didn’t have time to play any more.
The goalkeeper fell awkwardly and had to be replaced by Marcus Felipe at 18’. Cruzeiro’s defense was practically unthreatening in the first half. The team suffocated Bahia for most of the time. Boxed in, the visitors limited themselves to containing the home team’s advances and rarely reached the attacking field. Cruzeiro could have gone into the break with a good lead if it weren’t for the several misplaced passes, the wasted chances inside the box and some good saves by Bahia’s goalkeepers.
There was plenty of space for the team to develop plays. When all seemed lost, Romero appeared to save Cruzeiro from a frustrating first half. At 51′, the midfielder hit a great shot from outside the area and opened the scoring: 1-0.
Kaio Jorge scores and extends the lead in the second half
Raposa had a similar attitude to the first half, but was more effective and managed to turn a simple score into a rout. Kaio Jorge ‘redeemed’ himself for the missed penalty and scored twice in the second half. The forward scored at 19′ and 30′. In the first goal, the player received a good pass from midfielder Christian and went one-on-one with Marcos Felipe.
He was not intimidated by the goalkeeper and finished well, guaranteeing the 2-0. Kaio Jorge’s second goal also came from a pass from a midfielder. Lucas Silva left the center forward in a good position at the edge of the area. The athlete adjusted and kicked with placement, with no chance for the goalkeeper to defend: 3-0.
