Baia defeated Atletico Mineiro 3-0 in the Brazilian Women's Championship regular season round 15 on August 8th. The result leaves the visitors sixth in the table while Atletico sit in 13th place after 17 games. And here's the thing — the statistics tell a different story from what the scoreline suggests.
Atletico Mineiro dominated possession at 52 per cent and registered 92 attacks compared to Baia's 56. They also took 15 shots, five on target, against Baia's eight attempts with just two on target. To be fair, that kind of territorial control usually produces more than nothing, but not every match rewards the numbers.
The visitors' efficiency was the difference. Baia took five corners to Atletico's eight and committed 21 free kicks — more than double the hosts' 15. They kept a clean sheet without picking up a yellow card, while Atletico collected two. By then the pattern was clear: Atletico pushed forward but couldn't convert.
Atletico Mineiro's recent form makes this result predictable rather than surprising. They have drawn one of their last five matches and lost three, including a 2-0 defeat to RB Bragantino. Their last clean sheet came in a goalless draw with Mixto on August 1st. They are running out of games to climb out of the bottom half.
For Baia, this extends a decent run of results. They beat Botafogo 2-1 away and held Internacional 3-0 at home before dropping points against Ferroviaria 0-1. The three-point margin now puts them 13 points clear of Atletico in the standings. The gap isn't going to close quickly.