Gremio vs Fluminense

The first half at Arena do Grêmio produced few clear chances. Fluminense lost left-back Guilherme Arana to injury inside 21 minutes (Renê replaced him), and received early yellow cards for Guga (13') and Hércules (12').

Grêmio's best opening fell to Tetê, who ran through one-on-one with Fábio after a through ball from F. Amuzu, but the Fluminense goalkeeper spread himself well to save the attempted chip.

Hulk thought he had opened the scoring before half-time but was correctly ruled offside.

The breakthrough came on 65 minutes. From a Fluminense corner, veteran Grêmio centre-back Kannemann raised his arm to the ball inside the area. Referee Edina Alves Batista initially played on but, after a VAR review (initiated at 62'), awarded the penalty. Hulk, celebrating his 40th birthday the day before, stepped up to convert his first goal in Fluminense colours.

Grêmio pushed for an equaliser. Fábio denied Mathías Villasanti with a close-range save and smothered a header from Carlos Vinícius, but the home side found a way through in the 89th minute. Cape Verde winger Jovane Cabral switched play to debutant Diego Caito, whose cross-shot took a deflection off a Fluminense defender and looped over Fábio into the net.

Kannemann's handball from a corner — a moment of carelessness from the 35-year-old — was the decisive error. Until that point, Grêmio had controlled possession (51%) and created the better chances but lacked a cutting edge. The penalty gave Fluminense the lead against the run of play without having created a clear opportunity from open play. Grêmio's xG of 1.28 to Fluminense's 1.07 reflects the broader balance of the game.

Hulk (Fluminense) — Scored the opening goal with a firm penalty on his 40th birthday weekend. Worked well alongside Lucho Acosta to link midfield and attack, and also delivered dangerous set pieces including the corner that led to the penalty.

Diego Caito (Grêmio) — The debutant's moment arrived in the 89th minute. His deflected cross-shot rescued a point and justified his introduction as a 69th-minute substitute, having come on alongside C. Pavón and E. Noriega in a triple change.

Fábio (Fluminense) — The veteran goalkeeper made vital saves to deny Tetê one-on-one, Nardoni from close range, and Villasanti's header, keeping his side in the game until the late equaliser.

Thiago Silva (Fluminense) — Wore the captain's armband in his return debut for the club and marshalled the backline with typical composure, limiting Grêmio's clear-cut chances until the late deflection.

Grêmio's 51% possession and 12 shots (5 on target) against Fluminense's 7 (3 on target) tell a story of a home side that controlled large stretches but lacked precision in the final third. The xG gap (1.28 to 1.07) is narrower than the shot count suggests because Fluminense's penalty contributed 0.76 to their total from a single high-quality chance. Grêmio had more volume; Fluminense had the single clearest opening before the late equaliser.

Grêmio (15th, 22 pts) remain in touching distance of the bottom four — they sit one point above Vasco da Gama, the first team in the relegation zone. Fluminense (4th, 33 pts) stayed in the G4 but missed a chance to close the gap on Athletico Paranaense (36 pts) in third.

Both sides return to action midweek: Fluminense host Bahia on Wednesday 29 July (21:30 local), while Grêmio travel to face Botafogo on Thursday 30 July (21:30 local).

A fair result that neither side will feel good about. Grêmio will rue their failure to convert dominance into goals before the penalty; Fluminense will feel they let two points slip after Hulk's breakthrough. Grêmio's draw keeps them above the line, but their proximity to the drop zone means these are points dropped, not gained.