Excitement to the end! Bahia and Grêmio decide in the last plays of the match

The first match of the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil reserved a lot of emotion for the fans of Bahia and Grêmio, present at Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador. The two teams faced each other again after the grêmio victory last Saturday for the Brazilian Championship, with the winning goal coming in stoppage time. This power of reaction of the tricolor proved to be decisive again, especially in the complicated moments within the knockout competitions. Despite the absence of Luis Suárez, who felt a physical problem in the warm-up and was unable to enter the field, the club from Rio Grande do Sul managed to seek the result in the final minutes.

First time

The beautiful party of the Bahia fans was the highlight before the ball rolled at Arena Fonte Nova, with an audience of over 38,000 people. Playing at home and after having been defeated in the previous match, Tricolor de Aço managed to balance the confrontation in the first stage, betting mainly on plays on the speed of their two wingers, Ademir and Kayky. The first opportunity for the home team was in Everaldo’s low finish, which didn’t scare the Grêmio goal. The visitors’ response was in the 20th minute, Vina tried a left-handed shot and forced a rebound from Marcos Felipe. The offensive volume of the Bahian club became more evident as the minutes went by and at 30 minutes, again in a quick attack, Cauly almost opened the scoring in another long-distance conclusion.

Second time

Even without animation in the first stage, Bahia continued trying to create the advantage in the first leg and a single attack was enough to open the scoring. Kayky set up the play and played at speed ahead, finding Ademir unmarked. The number 7 of the Tricolor de Aço gave the right pass and Everaldo arrived beating, taking the zero in Fonte Nova. The striker also came close to the opponent’s goal with a header in the 14th minute, but went over the crossbar.

At a disadvantage, Grêmio tried to launch the attack, but had a lot of difficulty in creating and only managed to get close in some long shots made by João Pedro, which did not pose as much danger to the Bahian goalkeeper. Meanwhile, Bahia explored the spaces and wasted chances with Lucas Mugni inside the area. The game seemed on track, but in addition, everything decided to change. At 48 minutes of the final stage, Bitelo found Reinaldo between the defense and the lateral managed to cross. The ball passed through Marcos Felipe’s fingers and it was left to Cuiabano to complete it, pushing alone, with an empty goal.

Just like the defeat by the Brazilian Championship, Bahia lost focus in the final minutes and ended up paying for the inattention against an extremely cup-bearing Grêmio. The steel tricolor will have to win inside the Gremista Arena if they want to reach the semifinals of the Copa do Brasil, if the match ends in a tie, we will have penalties. The second elimination match between the two teams will be next Wednesday (12), at 19h.

Featured Photo: Players from Bahia and Grêmio during the match. Playback/Twitter