Overview
- Ceará overturned a first-half deficit to beat Novorizontino 2-1 after goals from Melk and Rian Santana in the second half, completing the comeback on Friday, Sept. 18.
- Coach Daniel Paulista said a halftime tactical change that brought on Matheus Araújo and Rian Santana gave the team more midfield creativity and helped dominate the second half.
- Júlio left the match with a reported muscular problem, prompting the midfield substitution that the coach credited with changing the game and creating selection uncertainty for the next round.
- The match featured two penalties and an expulsion initially awarded to Novorizontino but later overturned by VAR, and the loss ended the visitors’ seven-game unbeaten run and cost them the Série B lead.
- The win moved Ceará further from the relegation zone and sets up a 30th-round trip to Operário at Estádio Germano Krüger on Sept. 26, a test of whether the tactical tweaks and squad fitness hold up.