BRASILIA (Reuters) – Atletico Mineiro won the Brazilian Supercup 8-7 on penalties on Sunday after a nail-biting shootout that involved 24 spot kicks following an enthralling 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The match, which took place at a neutral venue in Cuiaba where water breaks were taken because of the searing heat, is usually played between the winners of the Serie A and Copa do Brasil. But as Atletico won both titles in 2021, Flamengo were invited to play as the first division runners up.
Ignacio Fernandez put Atletico ahead after 42 minutes, but Gabriel Barbosa equalised 11 minutes into the second half when he hammered home from close range after Bruno Henrique’s header was saved.
Bruno Henrique himself made it 2-1 for the Rio side with a lovely dinked finish eight minutes later only for Hulk, last year’s Player of the Year in Brazil, to tie the scores again with 15 minutes remaining.
That took the match to penalties. Both sides scored their first five but they struggled to administer the coup de grace in sudden death with Flamengo passing up three chances to win after Atletico missed.
Instead, Vitinho saw his shot saved by Everson after Hulk had converted Atletico’s 12th kick.
The result was the perfect start to Antonio Mohamed’s managerial career in Brazil. The Argentine took over at Atletico in January following the departure of Cuca.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
