Santos stars as Vasco da Gama reach semis
13 MAR 2023
Andrey Santos earned our Loan Performance of the Week honour after shining on his return to Vasco da Gama by helping them reach the semi-finals of the Campeonato Carioca.
Having joined Chelsea from Vasco da Gama in January after helping them secure promotion back to the Brazilian top flight, Andrey Santos returned to the Rio de Janeiro-based club on loan and picked right up where he left off.
His second debut for Vasco came in a big derby as the league phase of the Campeonato Carioca - one of the regional contests which take up the first part of the Brazilian season - approached its conclusion, with the newly-promoted side travelling across Rio to face neighbours Flamengo.
Despite the presence of former Blues defender David Luiz and ex-Juventus, Bayern Munich and Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal in the Flamengo line-up, it was Santos who caught the eye as he excelled in a defensive midfield role, his six successful tackles the highest number of any player on the pitch.
His performance in helping Vasco triumph 1-0 on his return in front of 70,000 fans at the famous Maracana earned high praise, including Brazilian journalist Fernando Campos exclaiming: 'The kid is off the charts, what a little monster!'.
Santos followed that up by helping Vasco to another win in their final game of the league stage, beating Bangu 2-0 at home to leapfrog Flamengo on the last day and finish second in the Taca Guanabara standings.
That secured their status as the second seed for the knockout phase to decide the championship, meaning they face Flamengo again in the semi-finals, with the first leg to be played in the early hours of Tuesday 14 March, UK time.
Well done and good luck in the semis Andrey!
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