Analysis: São Paulo stumble over attacking woes in defeat | OneFootball

*By Henrique Zaneti

Roger Machado lost his first match as São Paulo’s coach. This Wednesday, Tricolor was defeated 1-0 by Atlético-MG, in a game valid for the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship.

The team dominated possession, but was unable to turn their superiority into scoring chances, while Galo scored on one of the few opportunities they had in the game. As a result, the Morumbi team dropped to second place, behind their rival Palmeiras.

Inefficiency

With the tactical changes made by Roger in the lineup, São Paulo felt the absence of Lucas Moura and Luciano. Despite the technical quality in midfield, Tricolor had trouble breaking through Atlético-MG’s last defensive line due to the two attacking options: Calleri and André Silva, two players whose main strength is not mobility.

The introduction of young Maik in place of Lucas Ramon, who was rested for the match against Palmeiras next Saturday, also made things harder for the São Paulo team, since the full-back is one of the main players of the season and is known for his ability to exploit depth in attack.

In the second half, the coach replaced Cauly and André Silva with Lucas and Luciano, returning to the lineup used in recent matches. Three minutes after the changes, the team conceded a goal scored by Iván Román, who appeared unmarked in the six-yard box.

Trailing and without Lucas, who was substituted due to a rib injury, Tricolor continued to dominate possession but struggled to create clear chances. The team relied on crosses and shots from outside the box to try to equalize. The entry of Lyanco for Atlético-MG made São Paulo’s task even harder, as they now faced a five-man defensive line.

After the game, Roger identified the difficulty in attack. “I think we overused corner crosses, which didn’t allow us to get the ball into the box and gave the opponent opportunities for transitions. That’s something we need to look at carefully, but it was a specific issue, a characteristic of a particular game,” he commented.

São Paulo’s next match

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.