Athletico is lethal on the counterattack and eliminates RB Bragantino away from home

This Wednesday (7), the RB Bragantino received, in the Nabi Abi ChedidO Athletico-PR for the second leg of the round of 16 of the Brazil Cup 2024. In one of the best games of the competition so far, Furacão had a lot of bad luck from Braga and kept the dream of winning the championship for the second time alive.

At a disadvantage on aggregate, Braga had to go forward and propose the game. Meanwhile, Furacão closed up and waited for the chance to appear. And that’s exactly what happened. In a cruel way, Braga hammered and hit the post Leo Linck twice in the same move. Fernandinho took advantage of the counterattack and activated Thomas Cuello. The Argentine pulled a beautiful trivela pass out of his hat and left his compatriot Canobbio free to shoot at goal. The assistant initially saw Canobbio’s position as offside, but after analysis by VAR, the goal was validated.

With no other option, Massa Bruta, now three goals behind, dominated possession of the ball and filled Athletico’s defensive field, but made mistakes in the last decision and lost in the first half. Furacão almost extended their lead at the end of the half.

The eventful first half was no match for the thrilling second half. Bragantino continued to press and almost pulled one back after just 2 minutes with Eduardo Sashawho came on at half-time, but Léo Linck performed a miracle and prevented the first goal.

Canobbio had two chances to extend the lead and kill the game after just nine minutes, but in the same move, Cleiton He took the first shot and the Argentine got the rebound very low and sent it over.

With Sasha playing very well, Massa Bruta was exposed and suffered on the counterattack. At 17 minutes, Furacão took advantage of the three against two and Esquivel passed to Mastriani who, in the middle of the area, kicked without any chance for Cleiton and led to the classification.

Braga’s run of bad luck continued, as in the 26th minute, the home defender brought down Mastriani on the edge of the penalty area. Initially, the foul was called outside the area, but VAR corrected the decision and the referee awarded the penalty. The experienced Fernandinho struck the ball well and killed the game.

Already disinterested and thinking about the quarterfinals, Athletico relaxed and Bragantino took advantage of the moment to score two honorary goals with Thiago Borbas. But it was no longer enough and the damage was done. End of the game, 3-2 and Curitiba qualified. Check out some data from the match:

• Ball possession: RB Bragantino 63.9% x 36.1% Athletico-PR
• Finishes (accurate): RB Bragantino 26 (11); Athletico-PR 13 (5)
• Fouls committed: RB Bragantino 13 x 9 Athletico-PR
• Successful passes (%): RB Bragantino 421 (92.5%); Athletico-PR 163 (81.9%)

Qualified, Athletico prepares for the clash against International for the Brazilian Championshipat the Riversidewhile Bragantino will visit Corinthians.