Favourites win in Copa do Brasil fifth-round openers

Favourites win in Copa do Brasil fifth-round openers

Grêmio, Vasco, Corinthians, São Paulo, and Botafogo won in the opening matches of the fifth round of the Copa do Brasil, which began this Tuesday (21). With the exception of Botafogo, all the others faced teams that are not in the country’s top division. The Rio-based Alvinegro, meanwhile, played against Chapecoense, another team from Brazil’s Serie A. They won 1-0 at Nilton Santos, with a headed goal by Alex Telles in the 45th minute of the second half.

Botafogo came in as the favorite mainly because of both teams’ campaigns in the Brasileirão. While the Rio club sits in 9th place, the team from Chapecó is bottom of the table.

At the Arena do Grêmio, the Porto Alegre side beat Confiança 2-0, with goals from Carlos Vinícius and Amuzu, and took a solid advantage into the second leg. Vasco posted the same score against Paysandu at Mangueirão, with two goals from Spinelli, and left their qualification for the sixth round well on track — the next match will be at São Januário.

Also away from home, Corinthians beat Barra-SC 1-0 at Ressacada, with a goal from Lingard, while São Paulo, at Morumbis, defeated Juventude 1-0, with a goal from Luciano.

This Wednesday, the Copa do Brasil continues with the following matches: Goiás vs. Cruzeiro, at 7 p.m. at Serra Dourada; Bahia vs. Remo, at 7 p.m. at Fonte Nova; Santos vs. Coritiba, at 7:30 p.m. at Vila Belmiro; Athletic-MG vs. Internacional, at 8:30 p.m. at Orlando Scarpelli (SC); Fortaleza vs. CRB, at 8:30 p.m. at Castelão; Red Bull Bragantino vs. Mirassol, at 9:30 p.m. at Cícero de Souza Marques; and Flamengo vs. Vitória, at 9:30 p.m. at Maracanã.

On Thursday (23), the schedule includes four more matches: Atlético-MG vs. Ceará, at 7 p.m. at Arena MRV; Palmeiras vs. Jacuipense, at 7:30 p.m. at Allianz Parque; Operário-PR vs. Fluminense, at 9:30 p.m. at Germano Krüger; and Athletico-PR vs. Atlético-GO, at 9:30 p.m. at Arena da Baixada.