Santos FC see off Cruzeiro in style, third straight win in Brasileirão

Santos FC confirmed their strong run this season, controlled the match from start to finish, created several chances, and beat Cruzeiro 2-1 on Saturday night (12) at Vila Belmiro, in the 27th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship. Santos’ goals were scored by Rollheiser and Fabrício Bruno (own goal).

With the positive result against the team from Minas Gerais, Peixe secured their third consecutive win of the year. Previously, Cuca’s side had already beaten Internacional 3-2 at Beira-Rio in the Brasileirão, and Atlético-MG 2-1 at Vila Belmiro in the first leg of the Conmebol Sudamericana quarterfinals.

With the win, Alvinegro Praiano reached 35 points and climbed to 10th place in the national tournament. In the 28th round, Cuca’s team will visit Remo next Saturday (19) at 6:30 p.m. at Mangueirão.

Before that, however, Santos FC will switch focus and turn their attention to the Conmebol Sudamericana quarterfinals. Next Wednesday (16), Santos will visit Atlético-MG at 7 p.m. at Arena MRV in Belo Horizonte (MG), and can even afford to lose by one goal and still advance to the semifinals.

The match – With heavy rain at Vila Belmiro, the game started at a frantic pace. In the opening minutes, Kaio Jorge threatened for Cruzeiro. Peixe responded with Everton Cebolinha and Gabriel Bontempo testing goalkeeper Otávio.

With smooth passing combinations, Alvinegro Praiano began to take control and, in the 18th minute, Gustavo Henrique struck from the edge of the box, forcing a good save from the opposing keeper. Four minutes later, it was the turn of the sharp Cebolinha to try his luck from distance and skim the crossbar.

The pressure remained immense! In the 23rd minute, João Schmidt found a beautiful pass for Bontempo inside the box. Wearing the No. 8 shirt, he controlled it, shook off his marker, and fired into the corner, only for Otávio to make a great save.

And, as the saying goes: ‘constant dripping wears away the stone.’ In the 28th minute, Everton Cebolinha tried from long range, the ball deflected off the defense and fell to Rollheiser, who was all alone to slot it into the back of the net and open the scoring at Vila Belmiro.

Even after taking the lead, Santos FC did not sit back and kept piling pressure on Cruzeiro. In the 32nd minute, Rodinei broke down the right at speed and sent in a low cross for Gabriel Bontempo. Before the ball could reach the Menino da Vila, however, Fabrício Bruno turned it into his own net to make it 2-0. Alvinegro Praiano still created several more chances, but went into halftime with a two-goal advantage.

And after creating so much and failing to score again, Peixe ended up conceding late on. In the 44th minute, Matheus Pereira appeared inside the box to pull one back. Despite the goal, Cruzeiro’s reaction ended there, and Santos FC confirmed the 2-1 victory at Vila Belmiro.

MATCH DETAILSSANTOS FC 2 x 1 CRUZEIRO

Brazilian Championship – 26th roundVenue: Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP)Date: September 12, 2026Kickoff: 9 p.m.Referee: Bruno Arleu de Araujo (RJ)Assistant referees: Nailton Junior de Sousa Oliveira (CE) and Thiago Henrique Neto Correa Farinha (RJ)Yellow cards: SANTOS: Everton Cebolinha and Gabriel Brazão. CRUZEIRO: Fabrício Bruno, Kaio Jorge and João Marcelo.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.