- Willian Arão, in the 31st minute of the first half, and Christian Oliva, 23 minutes into the second, scored for the 'Peixe' in a match full of emotion, chances at both ends and saves from both goalkeepers; Gabigol assisted on both goals.
- Santos beat last year's finalists and will decide the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinal tie next week in Belo Horizonte.
Santos beat Atlético Mineiro 2-0 at the Vila Belmiro in the first leg of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinals, in a match with chances at both ends and two goalkeepers kept busy from start to finish. The 'Peixe' take the advantage to Belo Horizonte; the 'Galo', the tournament's reigning runners-up, take the feeling that they deserved something more.
The opener came in the 31st minute of the first half, after a review that kept the stadium on edge. Gustavo Henrique delivered a cross from the right, Gabigol nodded it down and Willian Arão, with his left foot — his weaker one — put it away. The assistant referee raised his flag, but VAR confirmed that Gabigol was onside and the goal stood. It was Arão's second goal in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana, and both carry the same stamp: the midfielder by trade, a two-time CONMEBOL Libertadores champion with Flamengo, has played as a center-back since Cuca converted him in August, and since then he has scored against Macará in the Round of 16 and now against Mineiro.
The second was a shared work of art. Twenty-three minutes into the second half, Gabigol curled a pass with the outside of his left foot and left Christian Oliva alone in front of goal, almost at the edge of the six-yard box; the Uruguayan finished low, to Gabriel Delfim's right, unstoppable. Without scoring, the striker who reached 100 goals in a Santos shirt less than a month ago owned the match from a different place: two assists on the two goals, one with his head and one with the outside of his boot, to tilt a quarterfinal tie.
What followed was a match with no letup. Atlético Mineiro, coached by Eduardo Domínguez and without Tomás Cuello, suspended for accumulated yellow cards, or Everson, sidelined with a broken foot, had more of the ball — 58% possession — and created chances in both halves that ran into Gabriel Brazão or a lack of accuracy.
Santos, on the other hand, grew as the minutes went by: from two shots in the first half they climbed to thirteen by the end, seven of them on target, and forced Delfim, the youngster standing in for Everson, into several saves to keep the margin from growing. It was an end-to-end duel, with the Vila crowd on its feet for every counterattack. Neymar, the star of Cuca's side, did not take part because of a muscle injury and followed the action from one of the boxes.
Domínguez looked for answers with Alan Minda and Victor Hugo 14 minutes into the second half, and with Gustavo Scarpa and Reinier in the 34th, but the 'Galo' could not find the goal that would have changed the tie.
For Mineiro, who lost the 2025 final to Lanús on penalties at the Defensores del Chaco and arrived at these quarterfinals having never lost a tie after winning the first leg away, the scenario is now reversed: they will have to come back at home. For Santos, facing a fellow Brazilian side in this Copa from the quarterfinals onward for the first time, the night left a certainty that not even Neymar's absence could dim: at the Vila, when Gabigol starts dishing out passes, the 'Peixe' have what it takes.
The match in numbers:
- This is the fourth appearance in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinals for both teams. Santos were previously there in 2003, 2004 and 2021 (never reaching the semifinals), while Atlético Mineiro played this round in the competition in 2010, 2019 and 2025 (advancing in the last two).
- Willian Arão has scored his fifth goal in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, his second with Santos this year after the one against Macará in August (the other three came with Flamengo in 2017).
- Gabriel Barbosa has been involved in at least one goal in each of his last five CONMEBOL Sudamericana appearances (four goals and four assists), the first Santos player to do so in the competition since at least 2013.
- Gabriel Barbosa is the player with the most goal involvements in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana (9 – five goals, four assists). Tonight he provided two assists in the same match, something he had done only once before in CONMEBOL competitions (with Flamengo in the CONMEBOL Libertadores in September 2022).
- Only three times has a team that won the first leg of a CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinal by 2+ goals been eliminated: San Lorenzo in 2006 against Toluca, Universitario against Vasco da Gama in 2011 and Once Caldas against Independiente del Valle in 2025.
