São Paulo earn gritty draw vs Grêmio after late red card in U20 cup | OneFootball

São Paulo secured a great 1-1 away draw against Grêmio on Thursday night (30th), at the Airton Ferreira da Silva stadium, in the first leg of the Round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil Sub-20.

The Tricolor had a player sent off in the 33rd minute of the second half, when they were already losing 1-0, but fought back with grit and equalized at the end, with a goal from the talented number 6, Nicolas.

Even playing away from home, the Made in Cotia team sought to take the lead in the match and was the side that most dictated the play. However, in the 16th minute, the home team opened the scoring with a deflected shot from Vitor Ramon, which fooled João Pedro and ended up in the net.

Soon after, São Paulo almost equalized: after a beautiful play by Lucca on the left, the forward crossed into the box and Paulinho headed the ball onto the post. On the rebound, the striker attempted a bicycle kick, but the ball went over Grêmio’s goal. In the following minute, after recovering the ball in the attacking half, Gustavo Santana tried a left-footed shot; the ball deflected off a defender and went over the crossbar, causing danger.

At 35 minutes, the opponent threatened again from a corner kick. Rogério headed powerfully, but goalkeeper João Pedro showed great reflexes and made the save, preventing a second goal. At 42’, João made another save in a one-on-one with forward Jardiel and sent it out for a corner.

After the break, the team led by André Mello (coach Allan Barcellos did not travel to Porto Alegre due to the birth of his son in São Paulo) returned with the same intensity. Just 8 minutes in, Lucca crossed into the box and Nicolas finished, but the shot was deflected by the defense and cleared away.

SENDING OFF AND A GOAL WITH GRIT

The Tricolor continued to look better in search of the equalizer, until they were dealt a cold shower in the 33rd minute of the second half. Colombian midfielder Potes, who had come on just three minutes earlier, was sent off for pushing his opponent’s face with his hand during a challenge for the ball. Red card and São Paulo down to ten men.

However, in the 40th minute, came the reward for São Paulo’s persistence, grit, and determination. After a good play and a cross from Tetê, who had just come on, the Grêmio defense deflected and the ball fell to Lucca. The number 7 didn’t catch it cleanly, but turned the play into a perfect pass for Nicolas, free in the box, to equalize with his right foot. For the goal scorer, nothing is decided yet.

“First of all, I want to thank God for the goal, thank my family and my teammates, the coaching staff. The match was very hard-fought, we have to value the team’s effort, which, even with one man down, ran until the end, gave everything, and this was the result of a lot of hard work. That goal at the end, I worked a lot, I was prepared for the moment, and now it’s time to work for the return leg at home and decide it there. Nothing is decided, let’s go for it!” said Nicolas to Sportv after the match.

The return leg will be next Wednesday (11/5), at 3:30 pm (Brasília time), now at CFA Laudo Natel, in Cotia. With this result, Tricolor needs to win by at least one goal to advance directly to the quarterfinals. If there is another draw, the spot will be decided by penalties.

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