Ferreira hat-trick sends São Paulo past Cruzeiro, back to 2nd | OneFootball

São Paulo returned to winning ways in the Brazilian Championship by thrashing Cruzeiro 4-1 on Saturday night at Morumbis, in the opening match of the 10th round of the national tournament. Calleri and Ferreira, with a hat-trick, scored the goals in the Tricolor’s win, while Christian pulled one back for the Minas Gerais side. Head coach Roger Machado, who was booed when the lineup was announced, saw the pressure on his job ease.

Roger’s gamble pays off as Ferreira delivers

Ferreira’s place in the starting lineup was backed by head coach Roger Machado, who chose to field the team with two natural wingers, with the No. 11 playing more on the left side. In his first match as a starter under the coach, he left the pitch with three goals and a decisive performance.

League standings

With the result, São Paulo won again after three rounds, having come from two defeats and one draw. The São Paulo side moved to 20 points and reclaimed the top spot in the Brasileirão, at least for now. To stay there, the team will be hoping for slips from Fluminense, who visit Coritiba this Saturday, and Bahia, who host Palmeiras this Sunday.

On the other side, Cruzeiro remained in the relegation zone and dropped one place in the table. Raposa now sit in 18th place, with the same seven points they had at the start of the round.

MATCH DETAILS?🔴⚪⚫ SÃO PAULO 4 x 1 CRUZEIRO 🔵⚪

🏆 Competition: Brazilian Championship (10th round) 🏟️ Venue: Morumbis, in São Paulo (SP) 📅 Date: April 4, 2026 (Saturday) ⏰ Kick-off time: 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) 👥 Attendance: 36,650 people 💰 Revenue: R$ R$ 2,022,929.00 🟨 Yellow cards: Wendell and Ferreira (São Paulo); (Cruzeiro) 🟥 Red cards: None

Officiating

Referee: Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima (PE) Assistant referees: Luanderson Lima dos Santos (BA) and Francisco Chaves Bezerra Junior (PE) VAR: Rafael Traci (SC)

GOALS

Lineups

SÃO PAULO: Rafael; Lucas Ramon, Rafael Tolói, Sabino (Dória) and Wendell (Enzo Díaz); Marcos Antônio, Bobadilla (Pablo Maia) and Luciano (Cauly); Artur, Ferreira and Calleri (André Silva). Head coach: Roger Machado

CRUZEIRO: Matheus Cunha; William (Kauã Moraes), Fabrício Bruno (Jonathan Jesus), Villalba and Kaiki; Matheus Henrique (Lucas Silva), Gerson (Wanderson) and Matheus Pereira; Christian, Arroyo (Chico da Costa) and Kaio Jorge (Neyser). Head coach: Artur Jorge

How the match unfolded

After eight minutes came the first shot on target of the match. Lucas Ramon controlled it on the right and crossed into the middle, but Calleri headed straight into goalkeeper Matheus Cunha’s hands. A minute later, São Paulo were awarded a penalty: Artur received the ball between two center-backs and was brought down inside the box. Calleri stepped up, struck it down the middle and opened the scoring for Tricolor.

In the 14th minute, Cruzeiro had their first shot. Arroyo took a free-kick from outside the box and Rafael parried it away. In the very next move, São Paulo scored their second. Lucas Ramon took a throw-in, Calleri flicked it on with his head, and the ball fell to Artur, who sparked a counterattack. The No. 37 slipped a pass through to Ferreira and William failed to clear. The winger went one-on-one with Matheus Cunha and doubled the Tricolor lead: 2-0.

In the 27th minute, Matheus Pereira played a good pass through to William, who shot from the edge of the box, but Rafael saved. In the 39th minute, William sent a free-kick to the far post and Christian headed it. The ball fell kindly and the midfielder tried another header, but hit the side netting. In the 42nd minute, São Paulo nearly extended the lead. Artur found Luciano, who laid it off for Marcos Antônio inside the box, but the No. 8 fired over the goal.

In the 46th minute, Matheus Pereira swung a free-kick into the box and Rafael came off his line but spilled it. The goalkeeper recovered quickly and saved Christian’s shot, sending it out for a corner. Three minutes later, Kaio Jorge received the ball, burst into the area, nutmegged Rafael Tolói and shook off his marker. The No. 9, however, took one touch too many, and Rafael came off his line to save São Paulo.

Second half

Cruzeiro pulled one back two minutes into the second half. Fabrício Bruno sent Arroyo through, and he drove at Dória. The forward dribbled past the São Paulo defender and squared it across, with Christian arriving at the far post to slot it into the back of the net.

In the seventh minute, Cruzeiro nearly leveled it. Kaiki Bruno lofted the ball into the area and Matheus Pereira headed it goalward, but Rafael made a great save to deny Cruzeiro. In the 16th minute, São Paulo restored their cushion and eased the pressure. Artur delivered a corner to the near post, Tolói got a touch, and Dória followed up, but hit the post. On the rebound, Ferreira pounced and smashed it into the Cruzeiro net.

In the closing minutes, São Paulo still found a fourth goal. Marcos Antônio picked out Ferreira with a pass, and he drove forward, entered the penalty area and curled home his third of the game to seal the Tricolor victory.

Upcoming matches

SÃO PAULO 🔴⚪⚫

CRUZEIRO 🔵⚪

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