São Paulo ratings: miss and pay… Calleri, Luciano fluff it in Boca defeat | OneFootball

São Paulo actually had a good first half against Boca Juniors in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals, but wasted its chances up front and ended up losing 1-0 on Tuesday night (8) at La Bombonera in Argentina. Strike duo Calleri and Luciano had good chances to score, but failed. See the ratings:

Rafael – 5.75 – In the first half, he only needed to come off his line once, doing so precisely to intercept a dangerous ball, and made an easy save in stoppage time. He made a big one-on-one save against Merentiel, who scored on the rebound. He also tipped a header out of the top corner in the 18th minute of the second half.

Domingos Duarte – 6.5 – Once again, he was the best defender in the first half, with three tackles and winning all five of his ground duels, along with one clearance and one ball recovery. In the 16th minute of the second half, he had a dangerous shot from a loose ball after a corner. He made a strong sliding challenge in the 29th minute and was sent off by the on-field referee. After a VAR review, the red card was rightly overturned, and not even a yellow was given.

Arboleda – 6.5 – Playing as the covering center-back, he made four clearances and one ball recovery in a strong first half in Argentina. Very solid throughout the match, he won everything defensively in the second half.

Sabino – 6.0 – Rounded out the back three’s strong display in the first half with two clearances and three ball recoveries for Tricolor. Another one who kept up a good level until the final whistle.

Lucas Ramon – 5.75 – He showed up well in attack at times in the first half, but misplaced some passes. He was very solid defensively, with three tackles, four recoveries, and five wins in six duels before halftime. He disappeared from attack in the second half, but stayed firm in marking.

Pablo Maia – 5.5 – Returned to the starting lineup to strengthen the marking, and did the job well in the first half, where he missed just one pass. He recovered four balls in the second half and was substituted late on.

Marcos Antônio – 5.5 – With more freedom on the left side of midfield, he made some good passes in attack, but also misplaced others and lost possession seven times in an uneventful first half for the No. 8. He remained the team’s engine, but was not having a great night and was taken off late.

Iago – 6.5 – After winning the ball high up the pitch in the 16th minute, he delivered a very good pass for Luciano to head in the box. He showed up again in attack with a perfectly weighted low cross for Calleri, who mis-hit it badly. An excellent first half, in which he also recovered four balls for the team. He was always an attacking option on the left and reliable defensively in another good performance.

Artur – 5.5 – He did not have a great first half, with just one accurate cross. But he worked very hard, making four ball recoveries. He did not hide, but was quiet and taken off late.

Luciano – 5.5 – He had the team’s first shot on target, a dangerous header that the goalkeeper pushed away. Shortly after, he was the one who set up Iago in a good attacking move down the left. He did not return as well after halftime and was replaced by Gustavo Santana in the 17th minute of the second half.

DISAPPOINTMENT: Calleri – 4.5 – He had his big chance in the 30th minute, when he received a perfectly placed ball from Iago, but side-footed it badly wide. Other than that, he barely touched the ball in the first half. In the 21st minute of the second half, he only got the slightest touch on a floated header into the box. He received a yellow card that rules him out of the return leg and was substituted shortly after, following a very poor performance.

Gustavo Santana – 5.5 – Came on for Luciano in the 17th minute of the second half. He moved well and gave more pace to Tricolor’s attack. He tried a few shots, but also did not change the course of the match.

Danielzinho – No rating – Came on in the 36th minute of the second half for Marcos Antônio and did not have much time to do anything.

Ferreirinha – No rating – Replaced the ineffective Calleri late in the match and barely touched the ball.

Newton – No rating – Came on in stoppage time, replacing Pablo Maia.

André Silva – No rating – Came off the bench for the final minutes, replacing Artur in attack.

Dorival Jr. – 5.5 – He reinforced midfield with Pablo Maia and brought Calleri back into the attack. The team had a decent first half, without being troubled by Boca and creating the best chances. After conceding, he replaced Luciano with Gustavo early in the second half, and shortly after sent Danielzinho and Ferreirinha onto the field. He returns from Argentina with a narrow defeat, having failed to find solutions to level the match.

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