Thiago Heleno’s goal in the 76th minute against Santos was enough for Athletico to take all three points at the Arena da Baixada for the 22nd round of the Brazilian Championship on Saturday night.
In the first half, Athletico had full control of the ball and kept possession but failed to capitalize and find the net. The chances in the game were very few with the visiting team having more threat at the early stage of the contest.
In the second half, the Hurricane continued to dominate play. Erick missed a big chance to go in front after he saw his rebound hit over the top.
Peixe also had a chance with Arthur Gomes few minutes later but his effort was futile. In the 76th minute, Hurricane finally got their goal through a corner kick situation. Thiago Heleno rose above the others to meet the cross and open up the scoring.
Few minutes after the goal, John made a great save and stopped Fabinho’s effort on goal.
Ten minutes towards the end of the game, Santos almost equalized through Madson who appeared in the area and headed the ball straight on goal and forcing a fine save from the hosts’ goalkeeper. The match ended 1-0.
Athletico-PR now stay five points adrift of the relegation zone, which would be great news and a breather for head coach Paulo Autuori.
With the loss, Santos missed a good chance to move closer to the top of the Brasileirão standings. They remain four points behind Flamengo. For their next outing, they will travel to Ecuador to face LDU on Tuesday for the first game of the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
