Friendlies Clubs· Season 2026
Chapecoense beat Grêmio 2-1 in a Sinop friendly on 4 July 2026. Bolasie and Everton scored inside three first-half minutes; Pavón replied with a free kick after the break. Luís Castro criticised his side's performance.
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Match Analysis
AI SummaryHow it unfolded
Grêmio started the brighter side, controlling possession and probing through Pavón and Gabriel Mec in the opening quarter-hour. Carlos Vinícius forced a save from Chapecoense goalkeeper Anderson at the ten-minute mark, and Gabriel Mec had a run into the box blocked soon after.
The game turned on a five-minute spell midway through the first half. A midfield tackle on Juan Nardoni went unpunished, and Chapecoense broke quickly. Yannick Bolasie collected the ball, surged through the centre of Grêmio's defence and slotted past Gabriel Grando to open the scoring in the 19th minute.
Three minutes later, Giovanni Augusto swung a free kick in from the right flank. Everton rose unmarked to head the ball over Grando and double Chapecoense's lead.
Grêmio pushed for a response before half-time. Pavón forced a save from Anderson with a 36th-minute drive from distance, and in first-half stoppage time he stung the goalkeeper's palms with a direct free kick that crept under the wall. Nardoni also tested Anderson from range, but the visitors held their 2-0 lead at the interval.
Both managers rang the changes at the break. Luís Castro introduced Marcos Leonardo, Wagner Leonardo, Kannemann, Caio Paulista, Noriega, Dodi, Monsalve and Riquelme — keeping only Grando, Pavón and Enamorado on the pitch. Chapecoense coach Rafael Lacerda made nine substitutions.
Grêmio's reshuffled side found a lifeline nine minutes into the second half. A foul on Caio Paulista just outside the box gave Pavón a dead-ball opportunity from a central position, and the Argentine drove his free kick into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.
The goal forced Chapecoense deeper but they remained organised. Neto Pessoa nearly restored the two-goal cushion in the 78th minute with a long-range effort that Grando saved. Grêmio could not find an equaliser and the match finished 2-1.
The turning point
Chapecoense's two-goal burst between the 19th and 22nd minutes effectively decided the match before Grêmio had settled into the contest. A soft foul award — or non-call, depending on perspective — in midfield allowed the visitors to spring the counter-attack for Bolasie's opener, and the set-piece goal that followed exposed Grêmio's defensive disorganisation in the air. Against a team that would make nine changes at half-time, building a two-goal lead inside 22 minutes was always going to be enough.
Key performers
- Yannick Bolasie (Chapecoense): The former Everton and Crystal Palace winger showed his quality on the break, using pace and strength to power through the Grêmio defence for the opening goal. His movement occupied two defenders throughout the first half.
- Cristian Pavón (Grêmio): Grêmio's most dangerous attacker by some distance. The Argentine created chances from open play, forced multiple saves from Anderson, and scored a well-struck free kick that briefly gave his side hope. Player of the match for the home side, if not overall.
- Everton (Chapecoense): Clinical with his headed finish from Giovanni Augusto's free kick, the goal that proved to be the winner. His positioning caused problems every time the visitors earned a set piece.
By the numbers — interpreted
Provider data shows a half-time scoreline of 0-2 that flattered the efficiency of Chapecoense's attack slightly more than their dominance of play. Grêmio had spells of territorial control in the first half — Pavón's two late first-half efforts and Nardoni's shot indicate a team that created chances — but they were undone by conceding twice from a combined three minutes of Chapecoense pressure. The second-half substitutions from both sides make the full-match stats less instructive; the game essentially became two separate 45-minute contests. The key number is Chapecoense's 2-0 lead after 22 minutes, which forced Grêmio to chase the game.
What it means
This was Grêmio's second friendly during the mid-season break, following a 2-1 win over Cascavel the previous week. Luís Castro was blunt in his assessment afterwards.
"It is not the result that worries me, it is a performance below what we should have had. We did not have a good first half, and that is concerning. We need to do something about what happened in that period." — Luís Castro, speaking to ge.globo
Grêmio's next fixture is against Cruzeiro on 12 July at Estádio Mané Garrincha in Brasília, followed by their Brasileirão return against Mirassol on 17 July. For Chapecoense, this was their first outing after the World Cup break, and the win provides useful momentum ahead of the resumption of competitive fixtures.
Verdict
A training-ground friendly decided by a sharp five-minute spell from Chapecoense in the first half. Grêmio's second-half improvement — catalysed by Pavón's set-piece quality — was encouraging for Luís Castro, but the limp first-half display is the clear takeaway as the Tricolor prepare for the resumption of the Brasileirão season. Chapecoense executed their game plan efficiently: sit deep, break fast, and score from a set piece.
Rivalry since 2014
Gremio vs Chapecoense-sc Head to Head Results· 17
Gremio and Chapecoense-sc have met 17 times — Gremio won 8, Chapecoense-sc won 4, with 5 draws. Their rivalry dates back to 2014. Gremio leads the head-to-head with 8 victories from 17 meetings. A combined 48 goals have been scored across these fixtures, averaging 2.82 per match (28 for the home side, 20 for the visitors). Both teams scored in 9 matches (53%). Over 2.5 goals landed in 7 games (41%), making it a fixture that tends to produce goals. Chapecoense-sc are currently unbeaten in the last 3 meetings. The highest-scoring encounter finished 3–6 in 2017.
Statistics are for informational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
API data: 9 Jul 2026