Chapecoense stuck on 18 points after Chapecoense draw

Chapecoense picked up a point on Saturday 19 September, drawing 1-1 away at Mineiro in matchday 28. It was the ninth draw of a season that has produced only three wins, and it did nothing to move the club off the foot of the table.

The numbers explain the position better than any description. Chapecoense have played 27 matches, won 3, drawn 9 and lost 15. They have scored 29 and conceded 53. That is a goal difference of -24, the worst in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A by a distance.

Split the record in two and the problem is not one venue. At home: 2 wins, 5 draws, 6 defeats. Away: 1, 4, 9. Nine away losses out of fourteen. The form line reads WLWLD, and the current run is 1D — a single point, no more.

Can a side that concedes roughly two goals a game survive? The arithmetic says it needs to stop, and quickly.

Next up is Vitória away on Wednesday 7 October in matchday 29, a fixture that matters more for the table than for anything else.

For context, Flamengo lead on 60 points at position 1 with a goal difference of +32. Palmeiras sit second on 57. The gap between Chapecoense and safety is not measured in one result.

Up front there is at least something. Kevin Viveros of Paranaense has 18 goals, ahead of Pedro on 16 and Gabriel Barbosa on 11. Chapecoense's own 29 goals are spread thin across a squad that has spent the season chasing games.

Eighteen points from twenty-seven. Three wins. Read it again.