Bahia and Remo met in Serie A's 27th round at Arena Fonte Nova on Monday night, and the hosts took all three points with a 2:1 win after a frantic finish. Jean Lucas opened the scoring in the 20th minute, a moment that stayed with Étienne Gagnon, who watches every ninety and remembers when things shift. To be fair, the game did not look like it would go that way for long.
The visitors levelled twice from the spot in stoppage time, Luciano bringing it level at 90+1 and Vitor Bueno striking again six minutes later. But then Nicolas Acevedo was brought down in the box and Bahia claimed their winner, the penalty converted by the man who had started the day's business. By then the arena was in full voice, though the result had already been decided in those final seconds.
Three substitutions came together at the break for Remo — Ze Ricardo, Duplexe Tchamba Bangou and Leonel Picco — while Bahia also made changes, Jandir Breno Souza Silva and later Marcos Victor and Erick Pulga all entering the fray. Jean Lucas was among those replaced at 79, Antonio Galeano came on for the visitors at 84, and Alejo Veliz arrived late for Bahia. The second half saw yellow cards for Matheus Felipe and Cristian Olivera, the latter arriving just after the penalties had been taken.
Bahia dominated the middle of the park with 63 per cent possession and created five big chances, their expected goals figure of 2.2 suggesting they should have scored more. Remo managed only one big chance and 1.35 expected goals, their three shots on target coming from six attempts inside the area. The visitors did better in clearances and tackles, but the statistics told the same story the eye had seen all evening.
We had given Bahia a win at 54 per cent confidence, and it came through in the end. Not because they controlled every phase, but because they kept knocking on the door and got their reward when it mattered. The old head settled them down when the penalties came, and the result moved them further clear of trouble.
The win keeps Bahia fourth with 46 points from 27 games, four wins above the drop zone and still in reach of the top four. Remo sit 19th with 23 points, a gap that widened tonight and may yet prove too much to bridge. The line has barely moved for the hosts, but the visitors are now looking at a season that is slipping away.