The substitute showed his star and scored a spectacular goal
No interior paulista, o Mirassol recusou-se a aceitar a derrota diante do Cruzeiro e arrancou um empate de 1 a 1 que o devolveu ao G6 do Campeonato Brasileiro. É a história recorrente do futebol: não o que está escrito no papel, mas o que se constrói com resiliência dentro das quatro linhas. Com 29 pontos e saldo de gols superior ao do São Paulo, o clube do interior ocupa agora o sexto lugar — um lugar conquistado pela recusa em se render.
- O Cruzeiro saiu na frente com a conexão já conhecida entre Matheus Pereira e Kaio Jorge, colocando o Mirassol em uma posição desconfortável dentro de casa.
- A pressão da torcida crescia à medida que o ataque mandante desperdiçava chances e Carlos Eduardo não encontrava seu melhor futebol.
- A entrada de Negueba no segundo tempo reacendeu o time: seis minutos após entrar, ele marcou um gol espetacular que calou o estádio por um instante antes de fazê-lo explodir.
- O empate foi suficiente para o Mirassol ultrapassar o São Paulo no saldo de gols — mais 10 contra mais 2 — e retomar o sexto lugar com 29 pontos.
- A rodada se encerra com os dois times de olho no fim de semana: Cruzeiro recebe o Internacional e Mirassol visita o Fortaleza, ambos no domingo.
O Mirassol entrou em campo pressionado. O Cruzeiro veio para jogar e, por longos trechos, pareceu o time que merecia estar no G6. A dupla Matheus Pereira e Kaio Jorge — já conectados por seis das nove assistências do meia na temporada — abriu o placar cedo, e o time visitante parecia confortável com a vantagem. A defesa do Mirassol fechou os espaços depois disso, neutralizando em grande parte a ameaça, mas o gol já havia saído.
O time da casa pressionou, criou, mas algo faltava no terço final. Carlos Eduardo não estava em seu melhor dia, e as críticas da torcida se tornaram audíveis. Foi então que o técnico apostou em Negueba, reserva com fome de mostrar serviço. Seis minutos após entrar, ele encontrou espaço, dominou a bola e bateu com precisão cirúrgica — o tipo de gol que paralisa um estádio por um segundo antes de fazê-lo explodir. O empate estava feito, e o Mirassol não cedeu mais.
Nas contas finais, o resultado valeu mais do que um ponto. Com 29 pontos — mesma pontuação do São Paulo, que havia subido na véspera —, o Mirassol se apoiou no saldo de gols para retomar o sexto lugar: mais 10 contra apenas mais 2 do Tricolor. Em uma tabela tão apertada, essa margem é tudo. Para o Cruzeiro, foi um ponto conquistado fora de casa, mas não os três que buscava. Ambos seguem em frente: o time mineiro recebe o Internacional no sábado, enquanto o Mirassol viaja para enfrentar o Fortaleza no domingo.
Mirassol walked into the stadium on the back foot. Cruzeiro had come to play, and for stretches of the match, the visiting side looked like the team that belonged in sixth place. But football is not played on paper, and the interior club from São Paulo had other ideas. By the final whistle, they had clawed back from a deficit to draw 1-1, a result that sent them climbing back into the top six of Brazil's championship race with a goal difference that told the real story of their afternoon.
The Cruzeiro attack had teeth. Matheus Pereira, the midfielder who had already distributed six of his nine league assists to centroavante Kaio Jorge this season, found his striker early with a pass that put the visiting side ahead. It was the kind of connection that had worked before—the arc and arrow of a well-drilled partnership. Mirassol's defense tightened after that, marking the pair so closely that the threat largely evaporated. But the damage was done. Cruzeiro had the lead, and Mirassol had to find a way.
The home team pressed. They created chances, moved the ball with intention, but something was missing in the final third. Carlos Eduardo, the forward tasked with leading the line, was not having the day the crowd wanted. The criticism from the stands grew audible. Then, in the 13th minute of the second half, the manager made a substitution that would change everything. Negueba came off the bench—not the Negueba who had emerged at Flamengo years earlier, but a player hungry to prove something in this moment.
Six minutes later, he did. Negueba found space, found the ball at his feet, and struck it with the kind of precision that makes a stadium lose its voice for a second before it erupts. A spectacular goal, the sort that shifts momentum not just on the scoreboard but in the minds of everyone watching. Mirassol was level. The Maião, as the club is known, was alive again. Negueba continued to involve himself in the play, threading through promising moves, but the equalizer would hold. No winner came.
What mattered, though, was the mathematics. Mirassol finished the 20th round with 29 points, the same as São Paulo, who had leapfrogged them the day before. But the interior club had something the Tricolor did not: a goal difference of plus-10 compared to plus-2. In a tight table, that margin was everything. Sixth place belonged to Mirassol now, and they had done it by refusing to accept defeat at home.
Both teams had work ahead. Cruzeiro would host Internacional on Saturday evening, while Mirassol would travel north to face Fortaleza on Sunday, also in the late slot. The draw had been a small victory for the São Paulo club, a moment of resilience that kept them in the conversation. For Cruzeiro, it was a point taken, but perhaps not the three they had come for.
Citas Notables
Matheus Pereira had distributed six of his nine league assists to Kaio Jorge this season— Match analysis
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a draw feel like a win for Mirassol here?
Because they were losing. In football, you take what you can get when you're behind at home, especially against a team with Cruzeiro's attacking structure. The goal difference matters too—they're level on points with São Paulo but ahead in the tiebreaker. That's the difference between sixth and seventh.
What changed when Negueba came on?
Energy, mostly. Carlos Eduardo wasn't connecting with the play, and the crowd could feel it. Negueba came in with something to prove. He scored a beautiful goal six minutes after entering, and that shifted the entire tone of the match. Sometimes a substitution is just about finding the right player for the moment.
Was Cruzeiro's attack really that dangerous?
Very much so. Matheus Pereira and Kaio Jorge had a rhythm—six of Pereira's nine assists this season have gone to Jorge. They got their goal early, but once Mirassol adjusted and started marking them tightly, that threat dried up. It's a reminder that even good partnerships can be neutralized with the right defensive shape.
Does this result help Palmeiras?
Yes, in a small way. The more points get spread around the top six, the less any single team can run away with it. A draw between two competitors means neither gains ground on the others. It's the kind of result that keeps the table compressed.
What's the real test now?
The next matches. Mirassol has to go to Fortaleza, which is never easy. Cruzeiro hosts Internacional at home. These are the games that show whether a team's form is real or just a moment. One draw doesn't define a season.