Fluminense extends their unbeaten streak with a 1-0 victory over Santos at Maracana on Thursday night, climbing to second place in the Brazilian Championship after four games, just two points behind league leaders Fortaleza.
Nenê scored the game’s only goal with a volley inside the area in his 100th appearance for the club.
Peixe had a great game and generated multiple chances, but Marcos Felipe, the host goalkeeper, thwarted them on numerous occasions.
The first half was interesting for both Fluminense and Santos, as both teams had good scoring chances. Flu’s best chance came early in the game, when Danilo Boza miscued his pass, resulting in a cross to Fred and Caio Paulista’s header over the crossbar.
Even after possessing over 70% of the ball, Peixe took a long time to threaten Marcos Felipe in goal. Santos ended up with eight shots on goal, five of which were on target, and many of them necessitated a superb save, with the greatest chance coming from Pará’s spectacular strike from outside the goal area.
The situation remained unchanged in the second half, with Fluminense hoping to capitalize on Santos’ mistake, only to succeed seven minutes later when Felipe Jonatan failed to fend off a cross inside the box, allowing Nenê to volley the ball into the net.
To get the game started, Fernando Diniz made changes to the Santos line-up, removing defenders Danilo Boza and Luiz Felipe in favour of creative players Camacho and Marcos Leonardo.
The substitutions boosted the attacking prowess of the team, but Marcos Felipe with his man of the match performance, foiled all the away side’s efforts, making sure the game ends 1-0.
The fifth round of the Brazilian Championship kicks off next Sunday, with Santos hosting Sao Paulo in a derby at Vila Belmiro and Fluminense visiting Fortaleza at Castelo.
