In the pouring rain, Vasco ran over Internacional and eliminated the possibility of relegation

The large amount of water on the field caused the two teams to not want to return to the field, but the match referee called for the match to be held. The return was good for the home team, who scored three more goals after the long break, equaling the team’s biggest defeat against Colorado, which was 4-0 on two occasions: 2008 and 1981 Brasileirão.

With this defeat, Vasco reaches tenth place with 45 points, removing the specter of relegation, as it is no longer possible to reach it by the teams in the relegation zone. Not only did the team stay away from the fight, but also pushed the opponent towards the “cake”. Colorado, which started the round in 15th place with 41 points, will now have to hope to defeat Vitoria, in the meeting with Mirasol, on Saturday, so as not to fall to 16th place.

Vasco still has a chance to qualify for the continental championship if they win the Brazilian Cup. The team will face Fluminense in the semi-finals. Until then, Vasco’s next match will be with Mirasol, also at Sao Januario, in the Brazilian League, on Tuesday, while Inter will face Sao Paulo at Vila Belmiro, on Wednesday.

Vasco’s fast start

With a full stadium, Vasco started the match aware of the importance of the duel, unlike his opponent. With this, they actually capitalized on Colorado’s initial mistakes and took the lead. To overcome the bad phase the team was going through, striker Andres Gomez made a wonderful move on the left side. He stole the ball from full-back Aguirre and drove it into the penalty area to shoot hard at Rocher’s goal, opening the scoring in the first minute of the match.

Inter arrived on the field with a scoring strategy from the ball, but were unable to stop the exchange of passes between Maltina players and, what is more, open spaces in the defensive sector.

Midfielder Kawan Barros took advantage of the disorganization to use right-back Paulo Henrique in the attack. The player controlled the ball, covering defender Bernabé, before passing to striker Rayam.

“Kidl” controlled the wall and turned quickly to shoot strongly and low from outside the area, reaching the left corner of Rocher, who was unable to reach the ball.

Vasco’s overwhelming start also saw Coutinho try from outside the box twice. In the first, Rocher made a great save, but in the second he was lucky to see the ball go off the crossbar.

Although the guests’ negligence led to many thefts for coach Fernando Diniz’s team, the team began to waste clear opportunities in attack.

On the Inter side, and in light of its lack of harmony with the pace of the match, coach Ramon Diaz made the first substitution 15 minutes before the first half, replacing full-back Aguirre with Ricardo Matias. At first the change did not have much impact and the team continued to suffer serious attacks, but the team quickly improved.

Vasco scores three goals after stoppage time

The chances that Deniz’s team wasted had an impact in the final period of the first half. It seemed that Internacional had finally woken up for the match, as rain fell at Cruz Maltino Stadium. The team then started to become more involved in Vasco’s defence, moving the ball from side to side and looking for space to score or cross into the area.

After Vasco’s marking made way for two successive crosses, Alan Rodriguez fed the ball to Ricardo Matias, who just pushed the ball into the net and gave the visitors the breathing room they needed before half-time.

But the positive moment subsided when the match was stopped and Vasco restarted, returning as strong as he was at the beginning of the first half. After a throw from Thiago Mendes, Gomez took advantage of the spaces in defense again, quickly came out and passed the ball to Rayam for the goal, in the first minute of the second half.

The team expanded by adding Barros in the 11th minute, and striker Nuno Moreira in the 19th minute. The midfielder headed home a corner kick from Coutinho. Rocher blocked the ball, but the ball remained in the possession of the player, who filled Colorado’s net again.

The striker took advantage of a counterattack led by Rayam, which ended at the feet of Paulo Henrique. The full-back passed for the Portuguese to shoot past Rocher, who this time accepted the shot and put the ball into the net.