Sport Recife defeated Grêmio 1-0 in Ilha do Retiro on Thursday night, with the only goal scored by an unlikely hero, Sander, the Lions’ left-back, in the 34th minute.
Thiago Santos put the visitors ahead in the 18th minute, but his goal was disallowed after a VAR review due to offside. This was the first win for Sport in the Brazilian Championship this term. Elsewhere, Grêmio are still without a point in the standings and find themselves bottom of the table. The only real gloss to the day was Douglas Costa making another debut for his boyhood side after 11 years in Europe.
Sport got out to a better start in the game, which resulted in more opportunities for goal scoring. In the 17th minute, Hayner nearly scored an own goal while attempting to clear an effort.
Thiago Santos then scored the first goal for Grêmio but it was disallowed due to offside. It is now staggering that Tricolor have struggled to score this term, as they have managed only two goals from three games.
In the 34th minute, Sander’s free kick put the Lions ahead after many chances from both sides. The atmosphere became more tense as both teams played more energetically until the 49th minute, when the score remained constant, giving Sport a halftime lead.
Grêmio improved after the break as a result of coach Tiago Nunes’ adjustments. So much so that in the 53rd minute of the second session, the visitors had two chances, both of which were blocked out by Mailson’s defence.
In the last stretch, Sport began to resurface, first in Gustavo’s counterattacks, then in André’s long shot. The heavy rain had dampened the excitement, and sport had gone on to win the game 1-0.
On Sunday, Sport pays a visit to Juventude at Alfredo Jaconi while Grêmio will be hoping to secure their first win this season when they take on Cuiabá at Presidente Dutra on the same day.
