Thiago's studs caught briefly on the turf with each step, the friction biting just enough to remind him: this is real. The scoreboard still glared: Palmeiras 0 – 2 Bragantino. The fans murmured in uneasy rhythm, that space between hope and resignation.
But the ball had started listening to him.
Minute 60: he broke down the flank with a delayed burst, Rafael feeding him a slide-rule pass between the left back and center half. Thiago didn't waste it—he took a tight touch to wrong-foot the defender and squared across the box. The cut-back missed Nando by inches.
A gasp from the crowd. Not disappointment—expectation.
Minute 62: Bragantino's counter came fast, but Thiago didn't retreat mindlessly. He tracked the route. When the pass curved toward their winger near halfway, Thiago pressed in. He didn't lunge. He positioned. He read. He intercepted with one touch and transitioned the moment into offense—ball snapped back inside to Rafael, who rotated play forward.
