São Paulo stumble at altitude, lose to LDU in Libertadores decider | OneFootball

The red flags that São Paulo wouldn't have an easy time in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals appeared early in the week when the team's travel logistics to Ecuador had to be altered due to construction at the neighboring country's airports.

Well, in the end, the 2-0 defeat to LDU on Thursday night (18th) was actually a relief for a Tricolor that saw its players feeling the effects of the altitude of over 2,000 meters.

The result is extremely disappointing for São Paulo, which sees its 17-game unbeaten streak in the Libertadores come to an end and continues with the jinx of never having even managed a draw against LDU away from home.

And perhaps the fact that Ferreirinha was the most affected by the heights of Quito, having to go to the bench due to headaches and discomfort, was LDU's greatest weapon.

This is because without the winger, who would have formed the attack alongside Luciano and perhaps given more breath to the connection between midfield and attack, Hernán Crespo's team lacked a playmaker capable of better organizing the offensive transition and increasing the Brazilians' firepower.

But things weren't necessarily a disaster for the Tricolor in Ecuador. Far from it. In the first 14 minutes, despite some difficulty in consolidating their game plan, they relied on the great effort of Marcos Antônio, a dynamo capable of covering the entire field with extra lungs to overcome the altitude, performing well both defensively and offensively.

But then came the pivotal moment of the match. Alalla controlled a ball on the left side, cut to the midfield, and launched a deep pass to Bryan Ramírez. The Ecuadorian full-back was in the midfield, advanced at speed, passed easily by Cédric Soares, who was hesitant in the play, and faced Rafael to finish and score.

São Paulo felt the impact of the goal, indeed. They spent the entire first half confused, unable to create, with marking failures, allowing a relative dominance by LDU, which at least managed to recover on the field and keep things calm to maintain their lead on the scoreboard.

After the break, Crespo improved things. He brought in players with greater speed, like Ferreirinha and Maílton, and creativity, like Rodriguinho. And the game changed. Chances appeared and started piling up. At 10 minutes, Luciano received a pass from Pablo Maia, finished, and forced a good save from Gonzalo Valle. Ten minutes later, Maílton found Rigoni, who struck hard for another save by the Ecuadorian goalkeeper. The keeper appeared again saving a shot from outside the area by Marcos Antônio. And at 29 minutes, Ferreirinha received on the left, cut inside, and shot, with the defender deflecting as best he could.

The impression was that the equalizer would come. But São Paulo's defensive system faltered again. At 32 minutes, Ferraresi tried to play out by passing to Pablo Maia, the midfielder got tangled up, Alzugaray regained possession and worked with Ramírez, who passed to Estrada to control without interference from Arboleda and slot in the second goal.

Before the final whistle, there was still time for the LDU goalkeeper to perform another miracle, saving a shot from inside the area by Luciano. And in stoppage time, the Ecuadorians saw another defensive lapse, this time by Arboleda, who gifted the ball to Estrada and forced Rafael to make his best appearance on the field.

Now the Tricolor is chasing the deficit and will need to win by at least two goals in the return leg next Thursday (25th) at 7 p.m. (Brasília time) at Morumbi, to at least take the decision of the spot in the semi-finals to penalties.

Before that, however, the club returns to the field at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time) on Sunday (21st) for the classic against Santos at Vila Belmiro, for the Brazilian Championship.

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