Cruzeiro and Corinthians drew 1-1 on Wednesday night (25/2) at Mineirão, in the 4th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. Matheus Pereira opened the scoring for the Raposa in the 9th minute, but João Pedro Tchoca equalized for the Timão after William's expulsion.
The match took place at Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, with Cruzeiro taking the lead in the 9th minute. After a good exchange of passes, Matheus Pereira struck forcefully from the edge of the area to open the scoring for the Raposa. Later, the Celeste side had a goal by Kaio Jorge disallowed by VAR for offside.
In the second half, Cruzeiro pressed, but at the 34th minute, full-back William fouled André and received his second yellow card, getting sent off. Two minutes later, Garro took a corner, and João Pedro Tchoca headed in to equalize for Corinthians.
Even with one player less, Cruzeiro could not regain the lead, and the score ended 1-1. In the final minutes, Cruzeiro fans protested, calling for coach Tite's dismissal.
In the post-match press conference, Tite addressed the protests: “It’s a challenge of maturity, for a team that has to know how to respect, for example, a fan manifestation, but also know that we’re still in a semifinal with an advantage and that we can, ahead, be deciding an important title”.
With the result, Cruzeiro, still without wins in the Brasileirão, moves to 18th place with two points, potentially returning to last if another match ends in a draw. Corinthians takes 3rd place with seven points.
Cruzeiro faces Pouso Alegre on Saturday (28/2) for the return leg of the Campeonato Mineiro semifinal, after winning the first leg 2-1. Corinthians plays Novorizontino in the Paulistão semifinal on the same day.
