It's not weird to see two teammates discussing who'll take a penalty despite coaches having a pecking order. However, it's not common to witness scenes like the one starring Cruzeiro players Bruno Rodrigues and Henrique Dourado that ended up with the taker missing from the spot not once, but twice on Wednesday night.
Cruzeiro player misses penalty twice after fighting teammate
2-0 down against Fluminense at home, Cruzeiro — owned by the OG Ronaldo — had a chance to bring suspense back to the game via a PK. Forward Bruno Rodrigues took the ball, but his shot was saved seconds later by goalkeeper Fábio.
Luckily for him, VAR caught Fábio for stepping forward during the penalty and called for a retake. Rodrigues took the ball once again, but this time his teammate Henrique Dourado came to the scene, probably saying, "You missed your shot. Let me get this one."
Both had a heated discussion before Rodrigues stood his ground and took the penalty. Guess what happened? Yep, he missed for a second time.
Surreal! Bruno Rodrigues perde o pênalti, arbitragem manda voltar porque o goleiro se adiantou. Henrique Dourado, um dos melhores cobradores da história do futebol nacional, pega a bola pra bater, mas Bruno não aceita, briga e bate o pênalti pela segunda vez. E perde de novo! #ge pic.twitter.com/Wfb4kUDXIr
— ge (@geglobo) May 11, 2023
Ouch!
Cruzeiro couldn't recover from the situation and lost the game 2-0.
Of course, after the final whistle the press wanted to know all the details of the melee.
"We fight and argue if we have to because everyone wants to win and honor the shirt," said captain Rafael Cabral. "What happened there is normal. In the locker room, they will hug, and Bruno will score again in the next game."
The players involved didn't face the microphones, but hours later they were very apologetic on their social media accounts.
Dourado was the first to take responsibility for his acts.
"I recognize that my approach was not the best, so we already talked in the locker room. Bruno and I, in addition to all the teammates. He is the official shooter, and I will remain available to assist Cruzeiro in every way possible," he wrote on Instagram.
Minutes later, Bruno replied to the story, signaling a definite truce.
"All right, brother. We are in this together for the best of the club. We will continue to respect each other, and we will be more and more united," he said.
Henrique Dourado e Bruno Rodrigues no Instagram pic.twitter.com/HWnIkLtrQS
— Centra️l do CEC (@Centraldoocec) May 11, 2023
After five games, Cruzeiro is fifth with nine points in the Brasileirão, four points behind leader Palmeiras.
