Chapecoense: The Fight in the Bottom Spot of Brasileirão

Chapecoense, bottom of the Brasileirão, isn’t having an easy time, with just 17 points on the table. The good news? More than half of those points were earned against São Paulo teams. And look, yesterday the team put on a show and turned the match against Corinthians at the Neo Química Arena, winning by 2 to 1!

Facts So Far

So far, Chapecoense has three wins and, guess what? All of them against teams from São Paulo! The list includes:

• Santos and São Paulo at the Arena Condá;
• Corinthians in São Paulo city.

And it doesn’t stop there! Three draws by the team were also against São Paulo teams:

• Mirassol (away),
• Corinthians (home), and
• Santos (away).

If we look closer, of the 17 points earned, 12 came from duels against São Paulo teams, which represents 70,5% of Chapecoense’s total points in the tournament.

Rivals Who Dropped Away

Only Palmeiras and Bragantino haven’t “lost” points to Chapecoense so far. But even those teams have faced Chape only once so far. Palmeiras even got rid of a scare. In May, they beat the team from Santa Catarina by 1 to 0 at the Nubank Parque, but Chape had a goal disallowed in stoppage time and, to make matters worse, missed a penalty in the last second of the match.

A Breather in the Sul-Sudeste Cup

Besides the Brasileirão, Chapecoense also shone in the Sul-Sudeste Cup, a competition new this season. In the group stage, they beat São Bernardo at home by 2 to 0. In the semifinals, they defeated Novorizontino by 2 to 0 away and drew 2 to 2 at Arena Condá, securing a spot in the final, where they finished as runners-up.

The Fight Continues

It’s true that Chapecoense is mired at the bottom of the Brasileirão, but they aren’t throwing in the towel. The gap to Mirassol, the first team outside the Z4, is 11 points and, even with 12 matches still to play, Chapecoense has one game in hand. In other words, hope hasn’t died yet!

According to UFMG, Chapecoense’s relegation chance is 97,4%. But the good news here is that this number has already dropped compared to the previous round, when it was 99%. The focus is to believe until the end. “We’re making progress. This is a very important moment for the club. We have a dream and we’re going to fight until the end!”, said Marcinho to Prime Video after the win over Corinthians.

The Challenge Ahead

The end of the table is daunting. Chapecoense will have to face no fewer than five of the six best teams in the tournament:

• Athletico
• Fluminense
• Cruzeiro
• Flamengo
• Palmeiras (the final trio in the last three rounds)

But they will also have direct clashes against Remo, Mirassol, Inter, Vasco, and Vitória. And there’s still a chance to expect matches against Atlético-MG, Botafogo, and Bragantino.

Recent Results

Take a look at Chapecoense’s last results:

• Brasileirão

  • Chapecoense 4 x 2 Santos
  • São Paulo 2 x 0 Chapecoense
  • Chapecoense 0 x 0 Corinthians
  • Chapecoense 1 x 2 Bragantino
  • Mirassol 1 x 1 Chapecoense
  • Palmeiras 1 x 0 Chapecoense
  • Santos 2 x 2 Chapecoense
  • Chapecoense 1 x 0 São Paulo
  • Corinthians 1 x 2 Chapecoense
  • No date - Bragantino x Chapecoense
  • No date - Chapecoense x Mirassol
  • No date - Chapecoense x Palmeiras

• Sul-Sudeste Cup

  • Chapecoense 2 x 1 São Bernardo
  • Novorizontino 0 x 2 Chapecoense
  • Chapecoense 2 x 2 Novorizontino

The journey is tough, but Chapecoense still carries hopes. Let’s keep following this fight!