Grêmio edged past Mirassol 1:0 in the Brazil Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday night, booking their place in the quarter-finals with a goal that came at the right moment. The visitors had drawn 1:1 at the same stage just three days earlier, so this was a different affair entirely.
C. Pavon broke the deadlock in the 37th minute, finishing a move that had been building since the opening exchanges. Before that, the game had been tight — Reinaldo and Denilson picked up yellow cards in the 33rd and 36th minutes respectively, setting a physical tone. And here's the thing: the goal came moments after those bookings, as if the tension finally snapped.
After the break, both managers turned to their benches. Mirassol brought on Edson Carioca in the 46th minute, while Grêmio responded with a double change in the 66th, bringing J. Nardoni and Wallisson on together. More substitutions followed in the second half — Alesson, F. Amuzu, Japa, Carlos Vinicius and E. Noriega all entered the fray. The visitors kept pushing but could not find a way back into it.
The statistics tell a story of control without penetration. Mirassol held 58 per cent possession and completed 400 passes compared to Grêmio's 270, but their shots on target stood at zero. Grêmio registered three shots on target and generated 1.13 expected goals, while the visitors managed 0.84 xG with no shots on target. To be fair, the hosts were not flawless either — they lost 80 passes and made only two successful crosses from eight attempts.
The clean-sheet run came to an end for Grêmio, but the result matters more than the number of saves Weverton made. One mistake ends it, and they advance with a 1:0 advantage from the first leg, a margin that gives them something to work with while leaving room for a second-leg collapse if they are not careful.
