São Paulo waste red card and penalty, only do enough v Juventude | OneFootball

A fragile, second-division opponent that came to Morumbi with a purely defensive approach. All of that would already have been enough for Tuesday night’s (21) clash against Juventude at Morumbi to calm, even if only a little, the fans’ anger toward Roger Machado and Rui Costa.

But truth be told, the fact is that São Paulo’s 1-0 win in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 32 really just left a sense of wanting more and perhaps increased the dissatisfaction. A slim scoreline against an opponent that had a player sent off and even saw a penalty missed. The proof came at the end, with boos directed at the team and insults.

Alright, pragmatically speaking, they did their job at home. Tricolor now only needs a draw in the return leg, on May 13 (Wednesday), at 7 p.m. (Brasília time), in Caxias do Sul (RS), to qualify for the round of 16. But that advantage should have been much bigger.

Roger’s unusual lineup, with plenty of absences especially in midfield, took time to click. The opening 25 minutes were those of a team that struggled to build offensively, tangled in the Gaúchos’ defensive web and, whenever it showed flashes of creativity and any impression of attacking volume, ended up stopped by fouls.

But, to be fair, Roger saw what was happening and changed a few pieces. Cauly started dropping deeper to get on the ball, easing the burden especially on Danielzinho, confused Juventude’s marking, and Artur emerged as an interesting outlet on the right.

By the 31st minute, the scenario was already completely favorable for São Paulo, dominant in every phase and showing more depth and variation in play. It was the ideal setting to ease the pressure and score a goal. And that’s what happened. On one of his runs, Artur delivered a perfect cross for Luciano to glance home with a header.

In the past, people would say the floodgates were open. And that’s where Tricolor’s problems lay. They created in abundance, but failed to capitalize. In the 39th minute, Artur, alone in the box, couldn’t finish off a cross. In the very next play, Cauly broke through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and missed his finish.

If São Paulo needed a little push, Juventude themselves lent a helping hand. Just two minutes into the second half, Diogo Barbosa lunged recklessly at Luciano and was sent off after a VAR recommendation.

One man up, 65% possession, and the opponent’s tactics in ruins. It was time to get revenge, time to kick the crisis away… But nothing happened. The chances kept coming, but they still couldn’t convert them. In the 17th minute, Artur hit the post after a corner kick. On the rebound, Calleri had time to control the ball and pick his spot. But the goalkeeper saved the shot.

That sequence alone was enough to drive the fans crazy, but the most unbelievable moment came in the 29th minute, when Danielzinho and Luciano combined and played Calleri in perfectly, alone and facing the goal, only for him to blast over the bar.

As if even the referee had grown annoyed with Tricolor’s wastefulness, in the 42nd minute he awarded a penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Léo Índio in the box. Now it would go in, right? Wrong! Calleri telegraphed the kick and the goalkeeper saved it, confirming that it really was a lean night at Morumbi.

After a night like this, with Roger hanging on to his job as best he can, São Paulo’s focus now turns to the Brazilian Championship, where the team will try to stay in the G-4 when it faces Mirassol at 9 p.m. (Brasília time) this Saturday (25), at Brinco de Ouro, since Morumbi will be unavailable due to a concert.

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