Rafael: ‘Major setbacks’ after heavy loss, but this is São Paulo fans want | OneFootball

São Paulo managed to erase the terrible image left after the 6-0 thrashing by Fluminense with a solid 3-0 victory over Internacional on Wednesday night (3), at Vila Belmiro, in the 37th and antepenultimate round of the Brasileirão.

Back in the team after serving a suspension against the team from Rio, goalkeeper Rafael, who made great saves, did not hide that the humiliation at Maracanã ‘has a big impact’, but said that this São Paulo is the one the fans want to see and that represents the club.

“Of course, a defeat like the one against Fluminense has a big impact for sure for us, because that was not the São Paulo that represented that game. The São Paulo the fans always want to see is this one, with dedication, with grit, and we need to keep working and increasingly maintain this São Paulo here,” said the goalkeeper as he left the field to Premiere.

“I am sure that every time we dedicate ourselves, run like we did today, we will leave the field applauded and certainly with a good result on the pitch,” continued the number 23 for São Paulo.

Rafael also congratulated the team for their strong performance at Vila Belmiro in a match against a rival threatened by relegation, and reiterated that this is the team that must represent on the field.

“Congratulations to the team for the great game. It was a very tough match and we needed to be the São Paulo of today, as we have shown in several games this year, with this intensity, with this dedication to run, to run both to play and also to defend,” said the São Paulo goalkeeper.

The victory ends up being extremely important for Tricolor to keep their Libertadores dream alive. The team remains alone in eighth place in the standings, now with 51 points, three ahead of Bragantino. The spot is crucial, since if Cruzeiro or Fluminense win the Copa do Brasil, the eighth-placed team will earn a spot in the preliminary phase of the main South American club competition.

Now, back in good spirits and excited by the strong performance, São Paulo moves on to their farewell to a frustrating season. They face Vitória at 4 p.m. (Brasília time) on Sunday (7), in Salvador (BA), needing a win to, perhaps, salvage a year that so far has been completely lost.

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