Corinthians and Grêmio provided quite a spectacle on Monday night into Tuesday. There were a total of eight goals to admire during the Brazilian league match. But if it were up to Grêmio coach Renato Portaluppi, there would have been a ninth goal added to that.
Embed from Getty Images
In stoppage time, in the eyes of the Brazilian former international, a handball by Yuri Alberto should have resulted in a penalty. The Corinthians forward had the ball struck against his arm from close range after a cross from Ferreira, but referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio refused to award the penalty, and VAR did not correct that decision.
Renato Gaúcho, as the Grêmio coach was known during his playing career, couldn't believe it. 'It's unacceptable that the penalty wasn't given. The Corinthians players themselves said it was a penalty. I saw it in three seconds. The whole of Brazil witnessed this disgrace. Everyone saw it. Even Stevie Wonder, who is blind, saw that it was a penalty.'
Now, Grêmio was denied a great chance for the winning goal, and Luis Suárez's team, who scored the 3-4 after 58 minutes, remained without a victory for the second consecutive match in the Brazilian Série A. However, they could have easily suffered a second consecutive defeat, as Corinthians fought back from a 0-2 deficit to level the score at 3-2 with three goals in six minutes.
After goals from Everton Galdino and Suárez, Grêmio seemed headed for victory again (3-4), but Giuliano netted the eighth goal of the spectacular match in the 67th minute. Many familiar faces participated in the match. Corinthians featured former PSV players Cássio in goal and Fágner at right-back, while Grêmio had goalscorer Suárez and Nathan (formerly of Vitesse) in the lineup as well.
