Santos beat Remo 1-0 in the Round of 16 of the Brazilian Cup on Wednesday, a result that sends the visitors into the quarter-finals. The match ended at the Estádio Olímpico do Pará with the away side holding on after a tense finish. By then you had a clear sense of who wanted it more, even if the scoreboard told a different story for much of the ninety minutes.
The first half brought early tension. Gabriel Barbosa and Joao Schmidt picked up yellow cards within a minute of each other at twenty-two and twenty-three. Then came the turning point at twenty-eight when Marllon was shown a red card, leaving Remo to play most of the match with ten men. L. Picco added another booking just before half-time at forty-five plus six.
Remo made Jaja and L. Picco substitutions at sixty-five and seventy-nine, while Santos brought on G. Caballero at sixty-one. And here's the thing about cup football — it has its own rules. The goal arrived at seventy-four when Rony found the net, but the visitors had already been threatening long before that moment. C. Oliva came off at eighty-three to make room for Ze Ricardo at eighty-seven.
The statistics painted a familiar picture. Santos held sixty-nine percent possession and registered five shots on target compared to Remo's three. Expected goals sat at 1.32 for the visitors against 0.64 for the hosts. Remo managed seven shots off target but could not convert their two big chances created. To be fair the home side's defensive work was solid — twenty-two clearances and eleven successful tackles.
The 1-0 scoreline means Santos advance on aggregate after last Tuesday's goalless draw. Remo will need to produce something remarkable at home if they are to overturn the deficit. The gap in possession and shot accuracy tells you exactly where the imbalance lay throughout the tie.