Sociedade 2 - 0 CRUZEIRO (391554156)

Clear skies welcomed the 43807 spectators who had made their way to Palestra Arena. Dirk Assmann was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Stefan Nilsson and Jurkus Apirubis. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Sociedade. The following players took the field: Kirk Jensen - de Almeida, Karpiuk, Alcântara - Fernán-Gil, Søndberg, Péna, Scalisi, Brooks - Lovdzhiev, Gatzoulas.

CRUZEIRO decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players had been chosen: Gheorghe - Fonseca, Håkansson, Öngören, Hernekoski - Ljones, Leeman, Veiga, Snoeij, Müller-Baum - Faugstadmo.

CRUZEIRO were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. CRUZEIRO's B. Fonseca refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon after 10 minutes. CRUZEIRO's H. Müller-Baum had seen it all before, so he waited patiently for the right opportunity. He would get no better chance than the one he took, but his shot was deftly blocked by the keeper. It was obvious that CRUZEIRO had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. CRUZEIRO's B. Fonseca could have put the guests one up after 32 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but T. Kirk Jensen was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. P. Alcântara gave Sociedade the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 1 - 0 was the halftime score. Sociedade had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

Things were deteriorating for the away team as Sociedade scored another to make it 2 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for P. Gatzoulas after 61 minutes. By now, the players in Sociedade felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. The referee showed Sociedade's P. Alcântara the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Sociedade enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 56 percent of possession.

Sociedade's best player was A. Karpiuk. On the other hand, T. Kirk Jensen's play was disheartening. CRUZEIRO's top performer was clearly C. Faugstadmo. M. Öngören was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 0.