Athlético Paranaense makes history by defeating Vasco in São Januário and breaking taboo

Athlético Paranaense continues to improve its performance within the Brazilian Championship this season, by defeating Vasco this Sunday night (23), in São Januário, again without an audience in the stands. The victory of the team from Paraná in the match valid for the sixteenth round of the competition broke a taboo of never having defeated the Cruzmaltinos inside their stadium, which featured the official debut of Ramón Diáz in technical command and the Chilean Gary Medel on the field.

First Warm Time

The lack of emotion was the main highlight in the first stage of the game, with no indication of which team would control the actions, with very few clear chances to score. The cruzmaltino showed some changes in the construction by his new coach, staying in possession of the ball, but not threatening Bento so many times, something that the visitors managed to produce a little more. The best chance for the people from Paraná was in the free-kick hit by Esquivel, while the cariocas almost opened the scoring with a kick by midfielder Jair at the entrance to the area, leaving for the bottom line.

Another match in the second half

The lukewarm confrontation seen in the first half gave way to another completely different one, in which Vasco launched the attack, while Athlético was waiting for an opportunity in the spaces left by the home team. Despite getting better chances, Hurricane came close to scoring with Erick, taking danger by taking advantage of the leftovers inside the opponent’s area. Even risking speed moves through the offensive flanks, the club from Rio de Janeiro failed in the conclusions, mainly in Figueiredo’s free header, hitting the net from the outside.

Taking advantage of the gaps and being much more organized, Athlético bet on the counterattack and Vitor Roque received a deep pass from Fernandinho behind the opponent’s defense. The young number 9 found Vitor Bueno, who let the ball reach Christian free on the penalty spot, the midfielder’s conclusion won goalkeeper Léo Jardim, leaving Hurricane in advantage. Vasco’s response was another opportunity from Figueiredo, but again wasted. At 30 minutes, Vitor Roque was freed again and knocked down, a penalty converted by Vitor Bueno.

The debut of Ramón Díaz leaves hope for Vasco fans despite the defeat, even more so due to the desperate situation within the Brazilian Championship. Cruzmaltino continues without winning at his stadium and has not even scored goals in games in São Januário. The club from Rio is at the bottom of the competition with only 9 points. Hurricane, on the other hand, ends a taboo by triumphing at the opponent’s home for the first time, climbing the table from eighth to fifth, reaching the 26th.

Featured Photo: Christian feeling an injury while celebrating his goal for Athletico. Playback/Twitter