One of the most exciting seasons of the Brazilian league ended Thursday with the most stable team of the season defending its title and the club that was home to the late Pelé relegated for the first time.
Palmeiras drew 1-1 at Cruzeiro and became Brazilian champions for the twelfth time. The 18-year-old Endrick scored his 11th goal of the season to give Palmeiras an early lead and Nikao equalized in the 80th minute at Belo Horizonte’s Mineirao stadium.
According to ESPN, Santos’ relegation comes after a 2-1 home loss to Fortaleza, another setback for the club at the stadium where Pelé’s funeral was held in January.
The coastal city side are one of three clubs, along with Sao Paulo and Flamengo, that have never been relegated from Brazil’s top flight, but a dismal five-game winless streak has seen them drop to 17th in the standings. with 43 points.
This year’s name went to Palmeiras with striker Endrick, who will join Real Madrid, scoring several key goals and rival Botafogo squandering a 13-point lead in the table.
Atletico Mineiro and Flamengo, who had little chance of winning the trophy on the last matchday, lost their matches. Those defeats put an end to Luis Suárez’s Gremio after a 3-2 win over Fluminense, with two goals from the Uruguayan striker.
Suarez is expected to sign for former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi at MLS’s Inter Miami CF next year.
Palmeiras finished with 70 points, two more than Gremio. Botafogo, which led 31 of 38 laps, finished fifth with points. The Rio de Janeiro club lost 3-1 to Internacional and ended the season on an 11-game winless streak.
Santos finished with one point over City Football Group-owned Bahia, which beat Atletico Mineiro 4-1, and two points behind Vasco da Gama, which won another tense clash against Bragantino.
Mario Sergio opened the scoring for the visitors in the 39th minute. Messias equalized in the 58th minute to give Santos hope of putting either Vasco da Gama or Bahia in a relegation position. But Fortaleza’s Juan Martin Lucero scored from distance shortly before the end. whistle.
The attack ended when Santos fans tried to invade the field, forcing the players to run towards the locker room.
Former Brazilian star Pele helped Santos become one of the most prominent clubs in world soccer, and the team enjoyed a golden era in the 1950s and 1960s, in which it won 10 state titles and six Brazilian league titles.
They also won the Copa Libertadores in 1962 and 1963, the same years they won the Intercontinental Cup, a trophy contested through the European and South American groups.
In addition to Pelé, Santos has produced a slew of notable players, including former AC Milan striker Robinho, Brazilian top scorer Neymar and Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.
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