Santos are clinical, rally past Fluminense and stay in the top-five hunt

Santos are clinical, rally past Fluminense and stay in the top-five hunt Santos deservedly beat one of the three strongest home sides in the 2026 Brasileirão this Sunday (18). And underlined their credentials in the race for a place in next season's Libertadores. Castillo scored for Fluminense, but Peixe came out on top 2–1 thanks to Gabigol and Coutinho. The Matchday 31 clash took place at the Maracanã in front of 27,697 fans. Watch the highlights here soon. Fluminense take the lead Castillo put Fluminense ahead after just four minutes, despite not making clean contact with the ball. Santos took a while to justify their attacking lineup. They only managed to apply some pressure towards the end of the first half. And it was Neymar who forced Fábio into action. Santos turn it around The lack of link-up play between their key players and their weak defending without the ball were addressed at half-time. And Santos came out flying, turning the game around in the space of five minutes. First through Gabigol, who took his career tally against Fluminense to 16 goals, more than against any other opponent. And then through Coutinho, who scored his first goal for Peixe. Only after falling behind did Marcão make his move for Flu, making four changes at once. Neymar does himself no favours as Fábio stands tall Fluminense could not regain control straight away. They continued to give Santos plenty of freedom. Neymar squandered a golden chance in the 80th minute. Shortly afterwards, the number 10 hit the post. Fábio then saved an effort from Rony. The 46-year-old Fluminense goalkeeper still had another save in him. Flu tried, but could not avoid defeat. And Peixe—with Gabigol their standout performer—deserved all three points. 📊 The standings Fluminense remained on 51 points after their second home defeat in the Brasileirão. They dropped to fifth and could still be overtaken by Bahia. They now turn their attention back to the Libertadores, with a trip to Palmeiras on Wednesday (21). It is the second leg of their semi-final, following a 2–1 defeat at the Maracanã. Peixe, meanwhile, moved up to 45 points and currently sit eighth. On Saturday (24), they face Bahia at Vila Belmiro. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.