Four goals erased. Two teams left with nothing.
No Castelão, sob o olhar estreante de Renato Paiva, Fortaleza e Bahia dividiram um empate em 1 a 1 que resolveu menos do que prometia. Quatro gols foram apagados pelo VAR numa tarde em que a tecnologia dominou o espetáculo e a bola pareceu secundária. O Fortaleza carrega agora dez jogos sem vencer — um peso que chegou antes de Paiva, mas que ele terá de carregar adiante.
- O Fortaleza chega à décima rodada consecutiva sem vencer, uma crise que a chegada de um novo técnico ainda não foi capaz de interromper.
- Quatro gols foram anulados pelo VAR ao longo da partida, transformando o jogo em um debate sobre tecnologia e deixando jogadores e torcida em estado de confusão permanente.
- Marinho abriu o placar com um chute de fora da área que merecia um destino melhor, mas o Fortaleza não conseguiu sustentar a vantagem nem converter as chances que teve.
- Nestor empatou de falta no segundo tempo, com o gol sobrevivendo à revisão do VAR apenas por um detalhe de toque final — o tipo de alívio que não satisfaz ninguém.
- Os dois times partem para a semana seguinte sem o impulso que precisavam: o Bahia enfrenta a Copa Sul-Americana e o Fortaleza visita o Atlético-MG em busca de uma vitória sem polêmica.
Renato Paiva estreou no comando do Fortaleza no sábado com o time em queda livre na tabela, e o que se viu no Castelão foi um empate em 1 a 1 contra o Bahia que prolongou o jejum de vitórias para dez partidas.
Marinho deu a vantagem ao Fortaleza ainda no primeiro tempo, aproveitando um rebote do goleiro Marcos Felipe para bater de canhota de fora da área. Breno Lopes quase ampliou ao isolar o marcador pela direita, mas parou no poste após defesa do goleiro adversário.
O segundo tempo virou um palco para o VAR. Dois gols do Bahia e dois do Fortaleza foram anulados — por falta, impedimento e toque de mão — numa sequência de decisões que esvaziou o jogo de qualquer ritmo ou clareza. O gol que valeu veio de Rodrigo Nestor, em cobrança de falta que bateu na barreira e voltou para ele finalizar. O lance foi inicialmente anulado por impedimento, mas o VAR identificou que o último toque havia sido de Matheus Pereira, em posição regular, e o gol foi confirmado.
Nos acréscimos, Bareiro acreditou ter dado a vitória ao Fortaleza, mas o árbitro marcou toque de mão. Quatro gols apagados, um empate que não serviu a ninguém. O Fortaleza segue sem vencer e viaja para enfrentar o Atlético-MG na quarta-feira, enquanto o Bahia disputa a Copa Sul-Americana contra o América de Cali na terça.
Renato Paiva arrived at Fortaleza on Saturday with the weight of a team in freefall. The Portuguese manager, fresh from his time at Botafogo, took the bench for the first time in his new role and watched his side play out a 1-1 draw against Bahia at the Castelão in the fifteenth round of Brazil's top division. It was a match that should have settled something but instead left both teams frustrated, and Fortaleza's drought—now stretching to ten games without a win—intact.
Marinho gave Fortaleza the lead in the 28th minute with a strike that deserved better company than what followed. After a corner kick, Bahia's goalkeeper Marcos Felipe punched the ball away, and Marinho arrived to meet it with his left foot, striking cleanly from distance into the corner. It was the kind of goal that should have built momentum, and for a stretch it did. Breno Lopes nearly added a second when he broke down the right flank, beat Jean Lucas, and forced a save from Marcos Felipe that sent the ball onto the post. The rebound fell to Marinho again, but he couldn't finish the chance.
What happened next was less football and more theater. The second half became a referendum on VAR's place in the sport, with four goals disallowed across ninety minutes—two for each side. Bahia equalized through Everton Ribeiro's header, only to have it ruled out for a foul on Marinho in the buildup. Breno Lopes thought he had restored Fortaleza's lead, but the flag went up for offside. Then Everton Ribeiro scored again, and again it was wiped away. The decisions piled up like debris, each one drawing protests from the field and confusion from the stands.
The actual equalizer came in the 37th minute of the second half, when Rodrigo Nestor struck from a free kick. His shot hit the barrier and bounced back to him; he finished on the second attempt. The ball deflected off Matheus Pereira on its way in, and for a moment it seemed the goal would be disallowed like the others. The linesman had flagged it for offside, but after consultation with the VAR, the decision was overturned. Matheus Pereira, not David Duarte, had made the last touch, and he was onside. The goal stood.
In the closing moments, Bareiro thought he had won it for Fortaleza, but his effort was ruled a handball. Four goals erased. Two teams left with nothing to show for their effort except frustration and a draw that satisfied neither.
Fortaleza's winless streak now extends to ten matches—a run that began long before Paiva arrived but will define his early tenure. Bahia, meanwhile, leaves Ceará without momentum heading into a Copa Sudamericana match against América de Cali on Tuesday. Fortaleza travels to face Atlético-MG on Wednesday, both teams searching for the kind of clean, uncomplicated victory that Saturday's chaos made impossible.
Notable Quotes
Marinho opened the scoring with a long-range strike in the 28th minute, but Fortaleza could not hold the lead.— Match summary
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What does a ten-game winless streak actually feel like inside a club?
It's suffocating. Every decision gets questioned, every mistake feels like confirmation of something broken. When Paiva walked in on Saturday, he inherited not just a team but a narrative of collapse. One point from a draw doesn't change that.
Four goals disallowed in one match—is that normal?
Not at all. It speaks to how tight the margins are now, how much the game has been slowed down by review. But it also means nobody can claim they were robbed. The system worked, even if it felt chaotic.
Did Marinho's goal feel like it might be the turning point?
For about twenty minutes, yes. It was a beautiful strike—the kind that should matter. But in a team that hasn't won in ten games, one goal is never enough. You need to believe you can hold it, and Fortaleza couldn't.
What does Paiva inherit beyond the losing streak?
A team that can create chances—Breno Lopes hit the post, there were moments. But there's a brittleness there. The defense made errors early. The finishing wasn't clinical. These are fixable things, but they need time and wins to fix.
Is this draw a step forward or backward?
Neither, really. It's a pause. For a team in freefall, a draw feels like failure. But it's also not another loss. The real test comes Wednesday against Atlético-MG.