Cruzeiro 2 - 1 Amici (366041545)

44552 punters turned up at Ballerete la SAMBA, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Jérôme Henry was the appointed referee with assistance provided by César Perales and Albert Ejsmont. Cruzeiro decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Inniss - Mulders, Macron, Warmus - Marc, Šegić, Spasić, Zucchelli, Jurbă - Ricucci, Schöch.

A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Amici. Starters: Kubrak - Musci, Vellutini, Zenga, Olgiati, Cantera - Becq, El-Hamdan, Ruud - Spanakis, Palencia.

Today, Cruzeiro's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Amici were relying on their ability to counter-attack. B. Musci behaved like an inexperienced youth player after 34 minutes as he gave the ball away to B. Jurbă. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. The referee signaled a penalty for the home side after 37 minutes, amid vocal protests from the visitors. Cruzeiro fans erupted in celebration as J. Macron rifled the ball into the the top corner. 1 - 0! Cruzeiro put in a good effort on the right, but G. Ricucci saw his volley fly wide of the mark 39 minutes into the game. Always quick and a menace to his opponents, N. Marc was very close to getting through after 44 minutes, but he could only put the ball into the keeper's arms. Cruzeiro had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. Cruzeiro increased the lead as G. Ricucci struck to make the score 2 - 0 after an attack from the left left him unmarked in front of the keeper. By now, the players in Cruzeiro felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. S. Olgiati showed why he is feared on the counterattack, breaking through in the middle and scoring for Amici after 44 minutes to make the score 2 - 1. Halftime score was 2 - 1. Cruzeiro enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 74 percent of possession.

Coming from the right, G. Šegić almost managed to score another goal for Cruzeiro, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. Amici's counterattacks created a good chance for D. Palencia on the right after 54 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Amici's M. Becq was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 60 minutes. P. Erborg was given a chance to change things around. As the game started to slip away for Amici, the manager decided to change the tactical approach. After 64 minutes, Amici used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. With 68 minutes played, B. Jurbă could have brought this one home for Cruzeiro as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. A counterattack by Amici after 73 minutes could have resulted in a goal, but D. Palencia, coming in on the left, couldn't get the shot off. After 77 minutes, Amici switched A. El-Hamdan with G. de Waal, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. Good work by the Amici defensive line after 77 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found D. Palencia alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. B. Musci of Amici was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. In an effort to secure the lead, Cruzeiro changed their tactic after 80 minutes. After 80 minutes, the Cruzeiro players received new instructions from their manager on how to keep in control of the game. Possession in this half belonged to Cruzeiro, who controlled the ball 90 percent of the time.

F. Warmus performed admirably for Cruzeiro. J. Inniss turned in a dismal performance, however. Amici's best player was A. Kubrak. However, G. de Waal made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 1.