Grêmio draws with Godoy Cruz at the Arena and gets into trouble in the South American

The homework was not done and Grêmio's life in the South American took on dramatic twists for the last game of its group. This Tuesday (13), the Tricolor only managed a 1-1 draw with Godoy Cruz, in the 5th round of Group D, in front of just over 15 thousand fans at the Arena. With the result in the direct confrontation for the leadership, the Gaúchos remain two points behind and go into the last round hoping for a stumble by the Argentines against Atlético Grau, in addition to the need to beat Sportivo Luqueño, at home once again.

In the line-up, Mano opted for Braithwaite and Arezo together . Without Cristaldo , he opted for Monsalve and, in defense, he brought in João Pedro to be more offensive. The changes had an effect at the beginning, but the development was apathetic and the football from both sides was not very attractive.

The whistle blew and the first goal came from the visitors. Volpi punched away a cross at half height and, at the edge of the area, Meli hit it first time, forcing the goalkeeper to make a great save. Grêmio's response, however, was what counted. Five minutes in, João Pedro tried a left-footed shot from the middle of the street and caught Petroli ahead. The goalkeeper was covered and the right-back was rewarded for his cunning: 1-0 for Grêmio in Porto Alegre.

The tricolor dominated the game, but without any major chances. Even so, with a solitary escape, Godoy equalized in the 28th minute . The mistake was made by Volpi, who hit a weak shot from Altamira into the middle of the area, at Valencia's feet. The striker didn't get a good shot, but the tricolor goalkeeper, down, couldn't make the save, despite getting to the ball.

The comeback was immediate, but Arezo missed an unforgivable goal . Petroli was sold, and the striker shot from the six-yard box for one of the two defenders under the crossbar to clear high into the air. He even tried a bicycle kick on the rebound, but missed the target. Before half-time, João Pedro felt an injury and had to be replaced by Igor Serrote. On the return leg, Serrote felt his wrist after a fall and also came off. João Lucas, the third option, came on just three minutes into the second half. Then, just 20 minutes in, the home team found their feet and started to come back. Braithwaite tried his luck from outside the box, but the goalkeeper stopped him.

And at 35 minutes came the best chance. Monsalve invaded the area from the left with the ball under control and pulled it towards the middle, with a low shot with the wrong foot, hitting the post and cheering the fans. In the extra time, there were two more opportunities. First, Ronald, with a header, was stopped by Petroli. Then, Esteves shot from outside the area and Jemerson deflected it, but the ball went just wide of the post and the tie persisted until the final whistle, at 50 minutes. Without much time to breathe, the focus is already on Saturday, at 9 pm, when Tricolor visits São Paulo for the 9th round of the Brazilian Championship . The rematch is this Wednesday, at 3:30 pm, at CT Luiz Carvalho.

Coach : Mano Menezes .

Godoy Cruz (1) Petroli; Arce, Quiroz, Mendoza and Meli; Poggi, Abrego and Valencia; Auzmendi (Miranda), Altamira (Sosa) and Barrea (Dupuy). Coach : Esteban Solari.

Referee : Diego Ulloa (COL).