Grêmio continues without winning at the Arena and has increased the performance debt. In the 1-1 draw with Cruzeiro, the team again showed difficulty in scoring and strengthening the attack. But Suárez’s individuality saved the Habs from defeat. The Uruguayan had to work hard to earn a draw in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil Round of 16. It was “an island” and did what was expected of it.

Wednesday night’s duel showed the level of the centre-forward compared to his teammates. For Grêmio to leave the Arena with a draw, Luisito had to be omnipresent on the pitch, looking for the game, creating chances and “shooting a shot from outside the box, with a trivela, to leave everything the same.

Suárez must have been something of a ‘handyman’, as those around him weren’t cooperating – Vina and Cristaldo, in particular. During the first half, Renato’s side were dominated by the miners and came in with more danger in just two shots, both with submissions from the gringo.

The first was in a half-bike from the striker in which the ball almost covered the goalkeeper, but came to rest in the crossbar. Then, in a rest from the corner kick, Luisito caught it first, in a characteristic move, but sent it on.

The attacking performance came down to Luis Suárez. The term “island” is, of course, a figure of speech. But the performance of the Gremista team still needs to improve a lot to reach the level of number 9.

Lack of resources when the game was released was one of the main issues. Cruzeiro induced the ball to Kannemann, who lacks quality as a virtue, and the Argentine repeated the kick forward. It’s not something new. Coach Renato himself admitted the problem.

Without Pepê, who had to leave the field after just ten minutes, Carballo came in and was given the order of the ball. However, the Uruguayan midfielder was unable to deliver that point in the same way.

The reactions of the public show that the performance of the team was not satisfactory. Also in the first stage, a few boos began to be repeated. They increased with each backward pass and were even more evident when the referee signaled the end of the first half and the players headed for the locker room.

Coming back from the break, Grêmio continued, in a way, lost and without repertoire to build shots. A few changes from Renato pushed the team further, mainly the departure of Vina and the departure of Bitello to the side, with the departure of Fábio.

So much so that it was the arrival of an improvised midfielder that led to the equalizing goal. Bitello played for Suárez 33 into the second half, the Uruguayan dominated outside the box and powered a trivela kick to score a superb goal in the corner. An individuality that justifies the nickname of crack. He did what was expected: he solved the problem.

The equalizer revived the crowd and Arena put the team away. Grêmio is again more insinuating and ends the match with the feeling of leaving the argument open for the second leg.

– With the difficulties, we got the equalizer, we had opportunities. Open game, big teams. Everything is open, we still have 90 minutes, there is no qualifying goal, we don’t need to win the Cruzeiro game, anything can happen – analyzed Renato.

It’s already four games without a win, with three draws and one defeat. In their stadium, the Habs have not won since the Gauchão final on April 8. The result with Cruzeiro remains unchanged for the confrontation in Belo Horizonte. A draw on the return wins the decision on penalties. Whoever wins, ranks.

Next Sunday, the Habs will have the opportunity to win again at home. They face their biggest rivals, Inter, but in a worse moment after losing to América-MG in the Copa do Brasil.

Grêmio and Inter face off on the 21st, for the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship. The ball rolls to the Arena, in Porto Alegre, from 6:30 p.m. The return match against Cruzeiro takes place on May 31, in Belo Horizonte.