Santos vs Macará: Arão seals 2-1 first-leg win
Santos beat Macará 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana round of 16 tie on August 13, 2026, with Willian Arão scoring the late winner after Gabriel…
SANTOS — Santos vs Macará ended 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana round of 16 tie on August 13, 2026, as Willian Arão scored late to give the Brazilian side a narrow home win. Gabriel Barbosa also scored for Santos, while Franco Posse put Macará on the board early.
The result gives Santos an advantage going into the second leg. It also eased some of the pressure on a team that came into the match after a difficult week, with results and off-field stories hanging over the club.
Santos vs Macará turns on late pressure
Macará struck first through Posse in the 5th minute, but Santos answered before halftime when Gabriel Barbosa scored in the 44th minute. The game stayed tight, physical, and restless. No one could fully control it.
Arão settled it in the 76th minute, finishing from close range on the right side of the six-yard box after Neymar delivered a cross following a corner. ESPN’s match page listed the final score at 2-1 in Santos’ favor.
Neymar was involved throughout and had already tested Macará early with a free kick from 36 yards in the 3rd minute. He also provided the assist for the winner, giving Santos a decisive touch in a match that had threatened to drift away from them after the opening goal.
Santos used a 4-2-3-1 setup, with Neymar, Gabriel Barbosa and Álvaro Barreal among the attacking names in the starting lineup. Macará lined up in a 4-3-3 and relied on quick transitions, with Posse, Campana and Cazares trying to stretch the home defense.
Goal.com said the match kicked off at 6:00 PM on August 13, 2026, and noted that viewers in the United States could watch via beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS Connect, both accessible through Fubo. Fanatiz was listed as another option for Spanish-language coverage of the Copa Sudamericana.
For Santos, the win mattered beyond the scoreboard. The club needed a response after a 2-0 defeat to Athletico Paranaense in Serie A on Sunday left Cuca’s side sitting 15th in the Brazilian top flight. Goal.com also reported that Neymar’s absence from that league loss had drawn attention because of a suspension, with Cuca confirming he would hold a private meeting with the player.
Macará did enough to stay in the tie, and their start showed why they arrived in strong form. Goal.com said the Ecuadorian side had won four of their last five matches across all competitions and came into the game sitting top of Group A in the Copa Sudamericana. Santos, meanwhile, held second place in Group D before the match and used the result to protect that position.
The live match page on ESPN recorded the decisive sequence late in the second half, including a VAR decision that overturned one Santos goal before Arão finally delivered the winner.
That leaves Santos with a 2-1 cushion and a second leg still to come, but the most telling number on the night was the one on the scoreboard when the whistle went: 2-1.
