São Paulo lose to Vitória, finish 8th, eye Libertadores spot | OneFootball

São Paulo was defeated by Vitória 1-0 this Sunday at Barradão in the last round of the Brazilian Championship, thanks to a goal by Baralhas. With this result, the team from Bahia avoided relegation, while the Tricolor finished the tournament in eighth place and continues to dream of a spot in the Pre-Libertadores.

To participate in the continental tournament in 2026, São Paulo will need to root for Cruzeiro or Fluminense to win the Copa do Brasil. This way, an extra spot for the Libertadores would be opened via the Brazilian Championship for the eighth-placed team in the league.

After the match, the São Paulo squad is officially on vacation and will return on January 2 to start the pre-season, which will take place at CFA Laudo Natel in Cotia, at the club's youth academy complex.

The official debut of the Tricolor in the season has not yet been scheduled, but it will take place on the weekend of January 10 and 11, against Mirassol, away from home, in the Paulista Championship.

Match Summary

VITÓRIA x SÃO PAULO

 Competition: Brazilian Championship (38th round)  Location: Barradão, in Salvador (BA)  Date: December 7, 2025, Sunday  Time: 4 PM (Brasília time)

 Yellow Cards: Camutanga, Baralhas, Willian Oliveira, Ronald Lopes, Matheuzinho (Vitória); Ferreirinha (São Paulo)  Red Cards:

Refereeing

Referee: Wilton Pereira Sampaio (GO) Assistants: Bruno Raphael Pires (GO) and Leone Carvalho Rocha (GO) VAR: Rafael Traci (SC)

Goals:

Vitória ⚽ Baralhas, at 22 of the 2nd half

Vitória

Thiago Couto; Cáceres (Fabri), Camutanga (Dudu), Neris, and Zé Marcos; Ramon, Baralhas (Ronald Lopes), and Willian Oliveira; Erick, Aitor (Matheuzinho), and Renato Kayzer (Renzo López). Coach: Jair Ventura.

São Paulo

Rafael; Tolói, Arboleda, and Sabino; Cédric Soares (Paulinho), Luiz Gustavo (Pedro Ferreira), Alisson (Pablo Maia), Marcos Antônio, and Ferreirinha (Lucca); Luciano (Rigoni) and Tapia. Coach: Hernán Crespo.

The Game

Rafael Saves São Paulo in the 1st Half

The first half was marked by Vitória's dominance in the match. Needing a win to try to escape relegation, the team from Bahia went all out against São Paulo and only didn't go into halftime ahead because goalkeeper Rafael was having an inspired day.

Rafael's first major intervention came at 18 minutes. Willian Oliveira set it up, Renato Kayzer got the rebound inside the area, and face-to-face with the São Paulo goalkeeper, shot first-time, but saw the opponent make the save.

Then, at 23 minutes, Erick received with freedom at the edge of the area and shot aiming for the corner, forcing a great save from Rafael.

Vitória's pressure didn't let up. At 32 minutes, Ferreirinha got tangled up in the defense and, when trying to clear, handed the ball to Willian Oliveira, who controlled it on his chest and shot hard to the corner, forcing Rafael to make another good save.

São Paulo's only great chance came in stoppage time, at 47 minutes, when Tapia received a deep pass from Marcos Antônio, behind the defense, entered the area, and shot as Thiago Couto came out, who made the save.

Vitória Finally Opens the Scoring and Secures Stay in Serie A

Vitória continued their relentless pursuit of a goal. At 11 minutes, the home team almost opened the scoring with Erick, who got past Luiz Gustavo's marking, entered the area, and shot to the corner, sending it close to Rafael's post and scaring the São Paulo defense.

São Paulo responded at 20 minutes. Lucca received with freedom on the left side and set it up for Pablo Maia to arrive and shoot first-time, sending it to the corner, just missing the post of goalkeeper Thiago Couto.

Two minutes later, however, Vitória was finally rewarded with a goal. Fabri acted as a pivot inside the area and passed to Baralhas, who was face-to-face with Rafael and shot to the corner, with no chance of defense, securing the victory and the team's stay in Serie A of the Brazilian Championship.

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