7 wins in 7 matches with one of them being on Copa Libertadores. Of course the highlight of the month was beating Cruzeiro 3-2. The surprise of the month is Flavio, my 18 year old striker that scored 4 goals in 5 matches.
Next month will have 7 matches with 3 Copa Libertadores fixtures. Now that the hard games against Cruzeiro and America are over, I hoping that that the next 4 Compeonato Mineiro games will be easy. I am hoping for wins against Anzoategui and at least one win against Tigres.
Here are the standing after January and February. We are in first undefeated with 18 points while Cruzeiro is in 4th with 12 points but with one game in hand. Both newly promoted Uberlandia and Ipatinga are both in the relegation zone.
Very tough game against a promising Caldense side which I believe they will play in Brasileirão Serie A soon. Tabata had a great game, picking up the Man of the Match.
The 1st half highlight was the amazing performance of Joao Vitor where he stop the Atletico Mineiro attack. But in the second half, Felipe finally broke the deadlock with a header and just seconds later, Tabata double the lead with a well placed shot.
Next match will be the Copa Libertadores against Anzoategui of Venezula at home.
That is two wins of 2 in Copa Libertadores group stage, we are alone in first place after Tigres tied against Danubio. Lucas Pratto received the Man of the Match award after scoring 3 goals.
Jadson started the scoring in the 4th minute with a incisive finish from 11 metres. Maicosuel had to leave the match after 19 minutes with a dislocated shoulder injury and will be out 2-3 months. Lucas Pratto got on the board with a header in the 27th minute. Guilherme scored a goal that should be candidate for the Puska award after a long shot that curled past the Anzoategui keeper. Pratto scored his second with another close header. Edwin Aguilar scored a conciliation goal in the 74 minute and Pratto completed his hat-trick in the 81st minute by another header.
Next match will be against Uberlandia on the road.
Maicosuel is out for 3 month with a Dislocated shoulder injury and Cardenas will be the replacement for him at the moment.
With this win, we qualified to the Playoffs aka the Campeonato Mineiro Semifinals. Jemerson scored 2 goals and rightfully won the Man of the Match award.
Dodo scored in the 3rd minute after an incisive finish from 10 minutes. Jemerson double their lead with a goal from close range and then he scored his second goal in the same way. Uberlandia made thing worse when Joaozinho got his 2nd yellow and was ejected.
Next match will be a Copa Libertadores match against Tigre at home.
This game was actually closer than the score displays. Tigre were very dangerous and I believe the return game in Argentina will be a tough one. Good news is that we are isolated in first and we are very close to qualifying to the next round.
The game started with Federico Andrada scoring for Tigre after a counter attack. Pierre needed to be subbed off after injuring during the game and will be out 4-5 weeks. Sherman Cardenas scored in the 34th minute with a real poacher's effort from 11 metres. Pratto give Atletico Mineiro the lead with a shot from close range and in the dying moments of the 1st half, Ramires scored his first ever goal for Atletico from a shot from 13 metres. Guilherme ended the scoring with a well placed shot from 14 metres.
Next match will be Campeonato Mineiro away match against Boa.
Pierre twisted his ankles during the Copa Libertadores match against Tigres and now will miss 5 weeks. I will rotate between Cirigliano, Lucas Candido, and Leandro Donizete.
Both Victor and currently loaned Carlos were called up to play for Brazil National Team. This is a special moment for Carlos because this will be his first ever call up.
This game was a disappointment for our attack. We couldn't not find a way to score against Boa and now we dropped our first points of the season.
Arlan received a automatic red card after a late tackle on Dodo in the 23rd minute. Edcarlos got his second yellow in the 74th minute when he fouled Mario.
Next match will be a Campeonato Mineiro match against URT at home
After the disappointment of the Boa game, my attacking core came to life today. 2 goals in the first 2 minutes of the game and it never looked like we were going to slow down.
The game started with Flavio scoring with 30 second in with a well timed close range shot and a minute later Tabata double the lead with another close range shot. In the 9th minute, Tabata had to leave the match with an injury after a challenge by Valdinho. Jesus Datolo subbed Tabata and scored his first goal of the season from a free kick in the 37th minute. Giovanni Augusto took advantage of a Polaco error and scored from a 12 metre shot.
Next game will be a Copa Libertadores Match against Tigre in Argentina.
Great win against Tigre especially in Argentina. Giovanni played in net today while Victor was away in international duty. Pratto with 2 goals today, now with 8 in this Competition. With this win, we qualified to the knockout stage of Copa Libertadores.
Pratto scored in the 16th minute with a shot from inside the penalty area after an error by Joaquin Arzura. Guilherme double the lead in the 40th minute after a well placed header that past the keeper. Carlos Luna cut the lead to one after scoring in the 64th minute, but Ernesto Goni got his 2nd yellow of the game and was ejected. Pratto scored his Copa Libertadores leading 8th goal in stoppage time.
Next match will be the last game of Campeonato Mineiro against Guarani at home.
6 wins in 7 matches this month with the only disappointment was the Boa result that we should have won that match. But 3 wins this month in Copa Libertadores helped us qualify to the next round.
Right now, April only features 3 matches but with the final Campeonato Mineiro match on the 2nd, we will find out who we will face in the Semifinals and will be played in this month while possibly playing the finals in April. The final 2 matches will be played in April and the Round of 16 match will be played in the same month.
Both Cruzeiro and America Mineiro have join us for the playoffs and will most likely be facing each other in the Semifinals depending on the final game. Tombense, Villa Nova and Caldense are battling each other for the final spot for the playoffs.
We qualified to the Knockout Stage of Copa Libertadores and will finish first regardless of the remaining two matches. Tigre, Danubio, and Anzoategui will battle of the last spot and it will be a very close one.
We finished in first and now the playoffs will start. Guarani gave us a scare in the beginning but we battle back hard and ended up winning.
Marcio Silveira scored in the 13th minute with a close range header but Dodo tied the game a minute later with a very well time shot. Flavio put Atletico in the lead after a finisher from close range and Ezequiel Cirigliano made it 3-1 a couple of seconds later from outside the box. Dodo in the 2nd half, scored his 2nd when he shot it from long range and Felipe capped it when he placed it from 11 metres.
Next match will be 1st leg of the Campeonato Mineiro Semifinals.
Here are the final standing for Campeonato Mineiro before the playoffs. For the second year in a row, we ended undefeated and coincidentally ended with the same record as last year. The other 3 teams that will be joining us are Cruzeiro, America Mineiro, and Tombense which also all qualify last year in the same position. Both newcomers Uberlandia and Ipatinga were relegated.
So that is that, the first leg of the Campeonato Mineiro Semifinals is over and it will be hard for Tombense to came back but never say never.
Felipe scored in the 11th minute by a close range shot and Flavio double the lead after an error by Tombense's Anderson Conceicao. Sherman Cardenas had to leave the game after landing awkwardly and may miss 4-5 weeks. Tombense Elsinho had to leave the game due to injury. Things went to bad to worse when Diego Felipe got his 2nd yellow and Tombense were down 10 men. Just second later after the send off, Vitor Hugo gave away a penalty and Dodo made them pay by scoring. Another Tombense player, Mateus had to leave due to injury. Diego Lugano scored the final goal by a close range shot.
Next game will be the Copa Libertadores match against Anzoategui away.
Sherman Cardenas will now have to miss 5 weeks due to a fractured arm and will miss a big portion of Copa Libertadores and the beginning of the Brasileirão.
Great win against Anzoategui in Venezuela. Both Pratto and Dodo had 2 goals each and we still after the 100% record in the group stage.
The 1st half only had a yellow card that was issued to Juan Carlos Carabali. The 2nd half started with Pratto scoring his 1st goal of the night after assisted by Dodo. Dodo scored in the 58th minute with a well timed shot from close range. An error from Anzoategui's Evelio Hernandez allowed Pratto to score his second and his competition leading 10th goal. Dodo also scored his last with a shot from 13 metres.
Next game will be the 2nd leg of the Campeonato Mineiro at home against Tombense.
We are in the finals. For the 78th and 10th consecutive year, we will play in the Campeonato Mineiro finals.
Dodo scored in the 13th minute after a very well timed close range shot and scored in the 31st minute after taking advantage from a Hugo error. Dodo had to be subbed in the 60 minute after damaging his elbow and will most likely be out fro 2-3 weeks. Flavio completed the scoring with a header in the 90th minute.
Next match will be the final Copa Libertadores match against Danubio at home.