Soccer-Santos hold Fluminense 0-0 in Serie A opener

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Fluminense and Santos kicked off the 2022 Brazilian Serie A season on Saturday with a 0-0 draw at the Maracana stadium.

Fluminense, who last week won the Rio de Janeiro state championship, had more of the game but they could not find a way past a stuffy Santos team and in-form goalkeeper Joao Paulo.

Fluminense had 17 shots on goal, compared to Santos' three, with former Brazil striker Fred coming closest for the home side with a shot that hit the woodwork six minutes before the final whistle.

Almost 23,000 fans watched the game.

(Reporting by Andrew Downie, editing by Pritha Sarkar)