Analysis: São Paulo impress but punished for individual errors against LDU | OneFootball

Marcelo Baseggio

São Paulo found themselves in a difficult position in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores after being defeated 2-0 by LDU, this Thursday, in Quito, Ecuador, in the first leg of the knockout stage. Tricolor had a good posture throughout the 90 minutes, was superior to the home team at various points in the match, but ended up being punished for not converting the opportunities created into goals.

The efficiency that was lacking in Hernán Crespo's team was abundant in the LDU team. The home team had few chances to threaten the goal defended by goalkeeper Rafael, but when they did, they were lethal.

Interestingly, both of LDU's goals were the result of individual mistakes by São Paulo. In the first, Cédric Soares did not track Bryan Ramírez, who went face to face with Rafael and completed the pass by lofting it without letting the ball hit the ground, watching the ball kiss the post before ending up in the back of the net. The second happened thanks to Ferraresi's "hot potato" pass to Pablo Maia, who was dispossessed, and Estrada was left with the leftovers to increase the lead.

Another curiosity is that LDU's goals came precisely when São Paulo was considerably dominating the opponent. Tricolor, however, had a lot of difficulty finding spaces in the rival defense, and when they did, they failed in the conclusion of the plays.

São Paulo had more ball possession, but only managed to get the depth they needed in the second half, with the entry of Ferreirinha, had more shots on goal, more corners and fewer fouls committed. It's no exaggeration to say that Thursday's score does not illustrate what the game was like.

The fact is that in football there is no justice, and São Paulo will need to learn from the mistakes made at the altitude of more than 2800m in Quito. The result is reversible, especially since the team will be playing in a packed Morumbi next Thursday, however, to qualify for the Libertadores semifinals, Hernán Crespo's team will need to be much more efficient than they tried to be in Ecuador.

The lesson learned after the duel with LDU is that the Libertadores does not forgive. Mistakes are costly, it's necessary to be as efficient as possible. In a knockout, the best team doesn't always advance to the next stage. It's much more about taking advantage of chances than having volume of play.

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