Defence horror show as São Paulo throw away lead to Santos at Morumbi | OneFootball

On a night of dreadful defending, with its back line failing at crucial moments in the match, São Paulo saw its unbeaten run at Morumbi come to an end after losing 2-1 to Santos in comeback fashion in a derby played this Friday (2), in a postponed match from the 21st round of the Brazilian Championship.

Tricolor had not lost at its stadium since another derby, against Palmeiras, when it was beaten 1-0 on March 1.

The result also halts São Paulo’s recent recovery in the competition. Dreaming of securing a spot in the next Copa Libertadores, the club remains on 36 points, missing the chance to open up the desired gap from the relegation zone and wasting the opportunity to use its game in hand to climb the table and move closer to the leading pack.

First Half: Penalty Opens the Scoring and Quick Response

São Paulo started by pressing high up the pitch, taking advantage of the spaces left by Santos, perhaps caught off guard by coach Dorival Júnior’s decision to abandon the three-center-back system and field a more compact team.

However, after a blistering start in which it kept the ball in the attacking third, the lack of sharper finishing in the creative department took its toll. And players such as Marcos Antônio and Artur proved to be unproductive.

Even so, Tricolor managed to open the scoring through a moment of recklessness from the opposing defense. In the 32nd minute, Ryan Francisco battled for and won the ball against Lucas Veríssimo, but was shoved and went down. A penalty was awarded after a VAR review, and Luciano stepped up and converted.

However, Tricolor’s celebration did not last long. Just three minutes later, Santos hit back quickly: in a move built up by the attack with an assist from Gonzalo Escobar, Gabigol took advantage of a mistake by Rafael Tolói and rose above his marker to level the match at 1-1.

Second Half: Santos Completes the Comeback

After the break, both teams changed their setups in an attempt to take control of the game, but Santos got the better result with the introduction of Philippe Coutinho. As early as the 9th minute, he received a pass, shook off Arboleda’s marking, and found Gabigol inside the box, who once again dribbled past Rafael Tolói and fired home to complete the comeback.

Trailing on the scoreboard, São Paulo tried to reorganize the team and made substitutions in attack and midfield, but produced very little effectively against an opponent that clearly had more composure and control of the game. To make matters worse, Luciano picked up an injury late on, when all five substitutions had already been made, and stayed on the field just to make up the numbers, further complicating things.

São Paulo returns to action next Wednesday (7), when it faces Cruzeiro at Mineirão at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), also in the Brasileirão, the only competition it has left this season.

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