And at the halfway point there were pundits saying the league was wrapped up already…

5 rounds to go and the first and 4th placed teams meet this weekend, before the final stretch after the return from the international break.

Bragantino’s match in hand is against Flamengo, and Botafogo’s is against Fortaleza if I’m not mistaken. Fortaleza are no pushover, despite being all the way down in 11th, they can climb up to 8th with their matches in hand.

The fight for the top 4 Libertadores spots is going to be mad, and none of those top 4 or even 6 teams are guaranteed to hold on to that coveted spot while also believing they can win the whole thing.

They have a new coach.

People have short memories. They had plenty of qualifiers with similar starts before.

Taking a step back and comparing to other cycles, there are always periods during which Brazil dominate possession but fail to break through against minnows.

With Tite the biggest differences were that this phase didn’t happen until later (instead, he started out on a big winning streak), and that the defense felt so secure.

Of course, that doesn’t make it any better. Tying at home is always a disappointment. It’s just not unprecedented.