Vasco da Gama beat Coritiba 5-0 at Estádio São Januário on Friday evening. The Serie A regular season match, round 28, ended with a comfortable margin for the hosts. By then, the visitors had already surrendered any illusion of a comeback.
Facundo Colidio opened the scoring at 24', catching the defence asleep. Bruno Duarte Da Silva doubled the lead just before the break, 44', and the visitors began to look nervous. To be fair, Coritiba had barely threatened since the opening whistle.
Alan Lescano added a third with a penalty at 56' after a clumsy challenge inside the box. Andrés Gómez made it four in the 63rd, finishing a move that had pinned the visitors back. And here's the thing, Coritiba had created nothing meaningful all afternoon. We had predicted a home win before kick-off, 48%, and the call proved accurate.
Ramon Rique Santos De Souza Barros sealed it at 73'. The visitors made three changes at half-time, bringing on Fabinho, Vitor Gonçalves Tissi and Thiago Santos, but it made no difference. Pedro Rocha came on later in the second half, 65', but Coritiba had nothing left to offer.
Vasco controlled possession at 65% and registered 4.05 expected goals against the visitors' 0.22. They took 22 shots with 11 on target, while Coritiba managed only two attempts, one on target. Five big chances were created by the hosts, none by the away side. Expected goals told the same story: 4.05 versus 0.22. The statistics showed a complete mismatch between the two sides.
The result leaves Vasco da Gama in 16th place with 31 points from 27 games. Coritiba sit 9th with 38 points after 28 matches. The hosts have dropped points in three of their last five, but this performance lifted them slightly away from the relegation zone. The visitors' recent form suggests they will need a response soon.
