Internacional and Atlético Mineiro played out a 0-0 draw in Brazil's Serie A on Friday evening at the Estádio Beira-Rio. The match, part of the regular season's 24th round, ended without a single goal despite both sides creating opportunities. Hosts Internacional sat 18th in the table with 25 points from 25 games, while guests Atlético Mineiro held eighth place on 36 points after 24 matches.
The first half passed without incident, but the second brought a flurry of yellow cards and substitutions. Bruno Gomes received the first booking in the 48th minute before Fred was cautioned 14 minutes later. Atlético's K. Pascini and R. Villagra went on to collect yellow cards in the closing stages, while Internacional's defenders G. Mercado, Paulinho Paula, K. Castano and G. Maripan were all booked on 90+9 or 90+10.
Both managers made significant changes to their line-ups. Bernard and T. Perez came on together for Internacional at the start of the second half, while Ruan Tressoldi replaced R. Lodi shortly after. Atlético brought on Matheus Cunha, J. Carbonero and Bruno Henrique in quick succession during the 78th minute, with M. Cisse added for Alan Patrick in stoppage time.
The statistics told a story of wasted chances. Internacional registered 14 shots inside the penalty area but managed only three on target, giving them a 13 per cent accuracy rate. Atlético were more clinical with five shots on target from nine attempts, achieving 45 per cent accuracy. The hosts created zero big chances while their opponents managed one, and the expected goals figures reflected that — 1.2 for Internacional against 0.84 for Atlético.
The result leaves Internacional still searching for consistency at the bottom half of the table. They have not won in their last three matches, drawing twice and losing once in that run. Atlético, meanwhile, extended their unbeaten streak to four games and remain firmly in contention for a higher finish.