With Lucho decisive, Bahia beats Cuiabá and continues in the fight for the Libertadores

Two months later, Bahia won again in the Brasileirão on Saturday night (30). Turning around, the Steel Squadron counted on the strength of Lucho Rodriguez to beat Cuiabá 2-1 away from home and reach seventh place in the championship, getting closer to a place in the Libertadores.

Bahia started the match in a sleepy way and, after 15 minutes, they were punished with Eliel’s goal, which opened the scoring for Cuiabá. In the 38th minute of the first half, however, Ademir tied the game with a nap from the Mato Grosso team’s defense.

The game was marked by many errors on both sides and the second half had a shortage of clear chances. Already 38 minutes into the second half, however, Lucho Rodriguez’s talent and race spoke louder. The attacker received the ball at the edge of the area and, alone, beat the opposing defense and hit hard to declare the Tricolor triumph after seven rounds without a win for Bahia.

In the next round of the Brasileirão, Bahia will face Corinthians in a direct confrontation for a place in the pre-liberators. The game will take place in São Paulo, at Arena Corinthians, at 8pm next Tuesday (03). Cuiabá, on the other hand, will go to Rio de Janeiro to face Fluminense next Thursday (05), at Maracanã.

Even with the need to win, Bahia did not start the match inspired. With many passing errors and inappropriate marking, the Squadron was unable to produce offensively. Cuiabá, in turn, established a high marking line, taking advantage of the Bahian club’s mistakes. After 10 minutes, the Central-West team had four shots. Most of them were produced when Bahia threw the ball incorrectly. The most dangerous of them was a free-marked shot from Clayson from outside the area. The attacker took advantage of a wrong move by the Esquadrão defense, received it at the edge of the area, but hit it out, scaring Bahia.

At 15 minutes, the Squadron’s sleepy attitude took its toll. Pitta was used on the left wing and crossed to Eliel who, alone, pushed it into the goal and opened the scoring. After taking the lead, Cuiabá lowered its lines and started to wait for Bahia. Without creativity, however, the Squadron created little and did not bother goalkeeper Walter in the first thirty minutes of the match. After that, the Central-West team gave up playing and gave a lot of space to Bahia.

The move was the last clear scoring chance of the first half, which ended in a draw. For the second stage, Rogério Ceni served Éverton Ribeiro and Caio Alexandre for the entries of Biel and Acevedo. Unlike the first stage, the match started off in a fight, with both teams fighting for every ball. Because of this, the game took a long time to develop, being stopped a few times due to fouls.

The game continued with both teams wanting to offer clearer chances, but mistakes with the ball at their feet prevented the moves from being carried out. Until twenty minutes into the second half, Adriel and Walter were not forced to work and watched both teams fail to create plays. The match continued without many opportunities. The clearest moves were limited to two goals from Cuiabá that were disallowed for offside.

In the 38th minute, however, Luciano Rodriguez decided to put the game in his pocket. The attacker received it at the edge of the area, put it in front, shared it with the defense and saw the ball left to fill his foot and beat Walter. The goal gave a different shape to the match which, due to the few chances, seemed to be heading towards a draw.

Cuiabá 1 x 2 Bahia – Brazilian Championship (36th round)

Bahia: Adriel, Gilberto (Arias), Gabriel Xavier, Kanu and Luciano Juba; Caio Alexandre (Acevedo), Jean Lucas (Thaciano), Everton Ribeiro (Biel) and Cauly; Ademir (Everaldo) Luciano Rodríguez. Coach: Rogério Ceni.

Cuiabá: Walter, Matheus Alexandre, Marllon, Alan Empereur and Ramon; Lucas Mineiro, Fernando Sobral (Denilson) and Max (Railan); Clayson (Jonathan Cafu) Isidro Pitta and Eliel (Jadson). Coach: Bernardo Franco.

Goals: Eliel, at 15 minutes, for Cuiabá; Ademir, in the 36th minute of the first half, and Lucho Rodriguez, in the 38th minute of the second half, for Bahia;

Yellow card: Fernando Sobral and Max for Cuiabá;

Arbitration: Davi de Oliveira Lacerda, assisted by Fabiano da Silva Ramires and Douglas Pagung (the Espírito Santo trio.