Chapecoense suffered home defeat against Mirassol to confirm their relegation to Serie B, sealed by an inexplicable blunder from goalkeeper Anderson.
It had been on the cards for weeks, but relegation finally arrived in the cruellest possible fashion. Chapecoense confirmed their drop following a dismal campaign that has yielded a mere four wins across 33 matchdays. Sitting on 21 points, they remain 17 adrift of Internacional—who defeated Coritiba—with only 15 left to play for.
The hosts had initially enjoyed a dream start. Kauan powered home a header from Augusto’s corner to make it 1-0. Mirassol had an opportunity to restore parity on 20 minutes, but Reinaldo squandered a penalty. The forward was handed another chance in first-half stoppage time, however, and made no mistake as he slotted home to level at 1-1.
The decisive blow struck Chapecoense in the 57th minute. Shaylon let fly from outside the box with a drive that goalkeeper Anderson initially appeared to push away. Instead, the ball looped back towards the line, and the shot-stopper inexplicably clawed it into his own net while attempting to clear with one hand. That 1-2 loss rubber-stamped the Verdao’s departure from the top flight.
