Corinthians lifted the Brazilian championship for the fifth time after fighting out a tense goalless draw with crosstown rivals Palmeiras on Sunday.
Brazilian giants Corinthians won their fifth Brazilian championship after fighting out a goalless draw with crosstown rivals Palmeiras at the Pacaembu stadium in Sao Paulo on Sunday. The title came on the same day as the death of Corinthians and Brazil soccer idol Socrates.
Needing only a single point to guarantee themselves of the title on the final match day of the season, Corinthians did just this in a fiery derby that saw four men sent-off. Corinthians finished the season with 71 points from 38 matches, two points clear of closest rivals Vasco da Gama, who were held by Flamengo.
The match was played at a frantic pace, with Palmeiras coming closest to earning the three points when a Fernandao header struck the crossbar in the 71st minute. It was a typical derby, but its importance multiplied, as while Corinthians needed just a point to clinch the title, Palmeiras did their utmost to ruin their party.
Three minutes from full-time tempers flared when Corinthians attacker Jorge Henrique provoked his opponents by juggling the ball to waste time, an action that led to a brawl which featured the majority of the players on the field.
Palmeiras midfielder Joao Vitor and Corinthians defender Leandro Castan received their marching orders immediately after the brawl. Two more players had received straight red cards earlier in the half, these being Chilean midfielder Jorge Valdivia of Palmeiras, and Corinthians defender Wallace.
Meanwhile, in a match played simultaneously, Vasco needed to claim a victory over Rio de Janeiro rivals Flamengo and pray that Corinthians would lose to Palmeiras in order to win their first championship since the year 2000. However, it wasn't to be as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Flamengo, and Corinthians managed a point against Palmeiras.
Vasco, who last week were eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana by Universidad de Chile at the semi-final stage, opened the scoring with a Diego Souza header in the 29th minute, but Renato drew Flamengo level in the 55th minute, when he made space for himself in the area, before slotting the ball home. Despite Vasco's intentions to score a winner, they ran out off steem, following Jumar's sending off midway through the second half.
With the point, Flamengo finished in fourth-place of the table, securing their spot in next year's Copa Libertadores. Vasco had already qualified for the competition earlier in the year, after hoisting the Copa do Brasil. Last year's Brazilian champions, Fluminense, finished in third-place after their 1-1 draw with Rio rivals Botafogo.
Meanwhile, Internacional of Porto Alegre grabbed the fifth and final Copa Libertadores spot, after edging city rivals Gremio 1-0 in a nail-biting Gre-Nal derby, courtesy of a penalty kick conversion from Argentine playmaker Andres D'Alessandro.
Sao Paulo narrowly missed out on qualification for South America's biggest club competition, despite thrashing Santos 4-1. Santos confronted the match with a second-string side, due to their FIFA Club World Cup commitments.
The fight against relegation was also of great interest, with Cruzeiro assuring themselves of top-flight survival by slaughtering rivals Atletico Mineiro 6-1. It wasn't such good news for Atletico Paranaense however, as despite a 1-0 win over Coritiba, they couldn't avoid relegation to the second division.
Brazilian championship - Round 38 Results
December 4
Atletico GO 5 - 1 America
Atletico Paranaense 1 - 0 Coritiba
Avai 1 - 1 Figueirense
Bahia 2 - 1 Ceara
Botafogo 1 - 1 Fluminense
Corinthians 0 - 0 Palmeiras
Cruzeiro 6 - 1 Atletico Mineiro
Internacional 1 - 0 Gremio
Sao Paulo 4 - 1 Santos
Vasco 1 - 1 Flamengo
Needing only a single point to guarantee themselves of the title on the final match day of the season, Corinthians did just this in a fiery derby that saw four men sent-off. Corinthians finished the season with 71 points from 38 matches, two points clear of closest rivals Vasco da Gama, who were held by Flamengo.
The match was played at a frantic pace, with Palmeiras coming closest to earning the three points when a Fernandao header struck the crossbar in the 71st minute. It was a typical derby, but its importance multiplied, as while Corinthians needed just a point to clinch the title, Palmeiras did their utmost to ruin their party.
Three minutes from full-time tempers flared when Corinthians attacker Jorge Henrique provoked his opponents by juggling the ball to waste time, an action that led to a brawl which featured the majority of the players on the field.
Palmeiras midfielder Joao Vitor and Corinthians defender Leandro Castan received their marching orders immediately after the brawl. Two more players had received straight red cards earlier in the half, these being Chilean midfielder Jorge Valdivia of Palmeiras, and Corinthians defender Wallace.
Meanwhile, in a match played simultaneously, Vasco needed to claim a victory over Rio de Janeiro rivals Flamengo and pray that Corinthians would lose to Palmeiras in order to win their first championship since the year 2000. However, it wasn't to be as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Flamengo, and Corinthians managed a point against Palmeiras.
Vasco, who last week were eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana by Universidad de Chile at the semi-final stage, opened the scoring with a Diego Souza header in the 29th minute, but Renato drew Flamengo level in the 55th minute, when he made space for himself in the area, before slotting the ball home. Despite Vasco's intentions to score a winner, they ran out off steem, following Jumar's sending off midway through the second half.
With the point, Flamengo finished in fourth-place of the table, securing their spot in next year's Copa Libertadores. Vasco had already qualified for the competition earlier in the year, after hoisting the Copa do Brasil. Last year's Brazilian champions, Fluminense, finished in third-place after their 1-1 draw with Rio rivals Botafogo.
Meanwhile, Internacional of Porto Alegre grabbed the fifth and final Copa Libertadores spot, after edging city rivals Gremio 1-0 in a nail-biting Gre-Nal derby, courtesy of a penalty kick conversion from Argentine playmaker Andres D'Alessandro.
Sao Paulo narrowly missed out on qualification for South America's biggest club competition, despite thrashing Santos 4-1. Santos confronted the match with a second-string side, due to their FIFA Club World Cup commitments.
The fight against relegation was also of great interest, with Cruzeiro assuring themselves of top-flight survival by slaughtering rivals Atletico Mineiro 6-1. It wasn't such good news for Atletico Paranaense however, as despite a 1-0 win over Coritiba, they couldn't avoid relegation to the second division.
Brazilian championship - Round 38 Results
December 4
Atletico GO 5 - 1 America
Atletico Paranaense 1 - 0 Coritiba
Avai 1 - 1 Figueirense
Bahia 2 - 1 Ceara
Botafogo 1 - 1 Fluminense
Corinthians 0 - 0 Palmeiras
Cruzeiro 6 - 1 Atletico Mineiro
Internacional 1 - 0 Gremio
Sao Paulo 4 - 1 Santos
Vasco 1 - 1 Flamengo
