Grêmio wins match against Operário-PR and secures place in the Copa do Brasil

On Sunday morning (14), Grêmio beat Operário-PR 3-1 at the Centenário stadium, in Caxias do Sul (RS). The game, in the second leg of the third phase, guaranteed the tricolor's place in the round of 16 of the 2024 Copa do Brasil. In April, in the first leg that took place in Ponta Grossa, the two teams drew 0-0. The classification of the team from Rio Grande do Sul also eased the current situation in the season. This is because Grêmio is in the Z-4 ​​of the Brasileirão and had won only once in the last 10 games. The clash also marked the return of attacking midfielder Yeferson Soteldo. The player was in Venezuela competing in the Copa América.

How was the match?

The first moments of the match were not very exciting. Grêmio had possession of the ball, but it was Operário-PR who tried to take risks through counterattacks. As the game progressed, the tricolor found its feet and took advantage of the penalty awarded in its favor. Joseph brought down Kannemann inside the area and Pávon, from the penalty kick, opened the scoring. The team from Paraná managed to tie the game in the 29th minute with a goal from midfielder Ronaldo, who seized the opportunity from a cross and equalized the score with a header. But the team from Rio Grande do Sul was quick and regained the lead in just two minutes with an assist from Soteldo to forward Everton Galdino, who advanced into the area and scored the team's second goal in the 32nd minute. The score of the game was decided at the beginning of the second half with forward Gustavo Nunes, who scored the tricolor's third goal in the 54th minute. The round of 16 duels will be drawn by the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation).

_{The best moments of the match between Grêmio and Operário-PR (Video: reproduction/YouTube/Ge)}

Hirings after victory

After the victory over Operário-PR, Grêmio announced the signings of midfielder Miguel Monsalve, from Independiente Medellín, Colombia, and forward Alexander Aravena, from Universidad Católica, Chile. Monsalve's signing was already known. The 20-year-old Colombian, who has already served as captain a few times for Medellín, arrives to be an alternative to Cristaldo, Grêmio's number 10. In addition, he also has in his history call-ups for the Colombian national team as under-20, in 2023. Aravena, on the other hand, was a surprise. The 21-year-old forward was discovered by Católica and plays on the left wing. In the tricolor team, he will be an alternative to play on the wings. The Chilean player was also recently called up by Chile for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In addition to these signings, Grêmio is also negotiating Uruguayan center forward Matías Arezo, who is at Granada in Spain.

Featured photo: Tricolor team celebrating goal in match against Operário-PR (reproduction/Luiz Erbes/AGIF/Gazeta Press)