Hulk beats the sworn enemy of the city! A free-kick from near the centre circle bursts into the net and ranks second in the top scorers' list

Since joining Atletico Mineiro, Hulk has always been able to score against Cruzeiro in derbys, and this time, there is no exception - in the 9th round of the 2023 Baja Liga, Atletico Mineiro visited Cruzeiro, and Hulk scored the only goal of the game with a free-kick blast near the center circle. In the league scorers list, he is also tied for second place with Corinthians' Roger Guedes (Shandong Taishan veteran).

Hulk

In this match, Atletico Mineiro coach Eduardo Cordet produced a 4-3-3 starting line-up, with Eversson in the goalkeeper and Rubens, Gremelsson, Natan Silva and Saravia from left to right, Ottavio, Batalha and Ednilsson forming a three-way midfield, and Orlan, Paulinho and Hulk in the forward line.

Hulk

In the 26th minute, Cruzeiro made a passing error at the back and Mateus Jousa brought down Hulk from behind, and the referee showed a yellow card and awarded the visitors a free kick in front. Far from the goal, Hulk chose to blast a left-footed shot that pierced through the wall and then bounced into the net to give Atletico Mineiro a 1-0 lead.

In the last four meetings against Cruzeiro, Hulk scored a total of 5 goals, worthy of the title of "King of Derby". It is worth mentioning that Hulk's goal was not only by brute force, and the emergence of this long-range world wave first came from his observation of goalkeeper Rafael and the opponent's wall: "In our previous training, we actually practiced this shooting method, and at that time, I saw Rafael beckoning his teammates to disperse, so I decided to take the plunge. Thank God I scored from a free-kick and brought three straight points to our team. ”

Hulk

After that, Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro each scored a goal, but all of them were annulled. At the end of the match, Atlético Mineiro won 1-0 against arch-rival Cruzeiro, and the team also temporarily jumped to second place in the standings.

Hulk

After the match, the authoritative media "Universal Sports" gave Hulk a high score of 8.5, praising him very much: "In the derby, Hulk played a decisive role again, facing a long-range free-kick, he chose to hit the goal, although Rafael Cabral flew and did not touch the ball. With this goal, Atletico Mineiro won the derby. ”