Even amid a serious financial crisis and still without Neymar, Peixe had little trouble in the match.

Mosquera posed the biggest threat to goalkeeper Brazão, especially in the first half, but that was about it.

Still, in the opening half, Gabriel Bontempo opened the scoring and gave Santos the composure it needed.

After halftime, having survived the scare of a shot off Brazão’s post in first-half stoppage time, Peixe took control of the game.

Gabriel Menino doubled the lead after a fine assist from Oliva, finishing with a shot into the corner.

Then Thaciano tried twice to “break the curse,” leaving Santos virtually assured of a place in the round of 16.

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In the closing minutes, in a typical “The Clowns” kind of play, complete with the goalkeeper spilling the ball and a defender producing an unbelievable whiff, Rony turned the win into a rout!

Finally, with the Venezuelan side’s first shot of the second half, Maicol Ruiz scored Universidad Central’s “consolation goal.”

🚦 Situation

With the win in Venezuela, Santos can even lose by two goals at Vila Belmiro next Tuesday (28) and still advance to the round of 16 to face Ecuador’s Macará.

UCV needs to win by three goals in Baixada Santista to try to force qualification on penalties.

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Peixe returns to action on Saturday (25), when it hosts Chapecoense at Vila Belmiro at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time).

The match, valid for the 20th round of the Brasileirão, should mark Neymar’s return.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.