Cruzeiro retain Copa title, seal spot in next year's Libertadores

Cruzeiro defeated Corinthians 2-1 in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil final to lift the Copa do Brasil.

The result on Wednesday means the club from Belo Horizonte won the tie 3-2 on aggregate to retain their Copa title and seal their place in the 2019 Copa Libertadores, the continent's highest-level competition, reports Efe.

Cruzeiro opened the scoring through Robinho, who fired in from the edge of the area after Hernan Barcos' curling shot had come back off the post.

Corinthians were forced to take the game to Cruzeiro, who were content to sit back and defend their two goal aggregate lead, and saw out the first half without conceding many clear goal scoring chances.

The Sao Paulo team were on level terms shortly after the restart - Ralf tumbled over a challenge from Thiago Neves, and with the help of the Video Assistant Referee, a penalty was awarded which Jadson calmly converted.

The home side thought they had taken the lead when Avelar sent a long-range effort looping over the Cruzeiro goalkeeper to send the crowd wild.

Their joy was short-lived, however, as the VAR again came into play, helping the referee rule the goal out due to a foul in the build-up to Avelaro's strike.

With the tie already slipping away from Corinthians, Cruzeiro put the final nail in the coffin after a rapid counter attack was coolly finished by Giorgian Daniel De Arrascaeta with under 10 minutes left.

--IANS

gau/vm