Sport Recife saw off Londrina 2:1 in the Brazilian Serie B on Friday night at the Ilha do Retiro. Diego Hernández bagged two goals while Joao Vitor added the third for the hosts, who moved further clear of the relegation zone. Londrina, already deep in trouble, suffered a blow when Rogerio Micale was shown a red card in the 53rd minute.
And here's the thing about Hernández's opening goal — the strike at the 11th minute stood only after VAR confirmed it at 14. By then, Londrina had already pushed forward looking for a response. Joao Vitor levelled things up at 30, but Hernández struck again just before the break at 43 to restore the lead.
To be fair, the match turned when Micale was sent off. The incident coincided with a cancelled penalty for Londrina — VAR ruled against Marlon at the same minute. João Vitor picked up a yellow card in the same flurry of action. Londrina had nothing to lose after that, threw everything at it, but couldn't find a way back in.
The statistics tell their own story. Sport Recife dominated possession at 51 per cent and registered 108 attacks compared to Londrina's 86. They had 4 shots on target against 4 as well, but expected goals showed a tight contest — 1.04 to 0.95. Londrina's goalkeeper dealt with just 2 saves while Sport Recife's keeper made 3.
By then, the hosts had already secured what mattered. Sport Recife sit 9th with 38 points from 26 games, while Londrina languish 18th with just 22. The gap between them is now 16 points, and for the visitors, they are staring at the drop. One loss extends a run that includes four defeats and two draws in their last six matches.