São Paulo overcome heavy pitch and critics to lead Brasileirão | OneFootball

It was the night that Roger Machado wanted…

Subject to severe criticism from fans after being announced as the replacement for the dismissed Hernán Crespo, the new São Paulo coach knows he depends on good results to win over the tricolor hearts.

And at least the first step towards that was taken this Thursday (12).

Tactical structure and lineup were not the only things that changed very little. The quality of São Paulo's game remained the same. And the team defeated Chapecoense 2-0 at Canindé.

As if a little joy wasn't enough, the other big news of the night came from Rio de Janeiro (RJ), where Vasco defeated Palmeiras at São Januário.

In other words, as a consequence, the Tricolor can now celebrate: they are the sole leader of the Brazilian Championship. They remain unbeaten in the competition, with 13 points, three more than the green rival and Fluminense.

The game started off a bit sour for São Paulo, as the field, heavy from the persistent rain that fell over the Portuguesa stadium, was too much for the drainage. For almost 30 minutes, the Morumbi club was cornered by the visitor, feeling boxed in.

But that was it. After the hydration break (yes, even with rain), the tricolor team managed to turn things around. And the goal seemed a matter of time.

After at least four excellent chances still in the first half, São Paulo only scored in the second half. Right in the first play, Marcos Antônio made a beautiful cross for Luciano, who headed it in to score.

At 14, when Chapecoense was already down, things were settled. Marcos Antônio, again, found a beautiful pass to Luciano, who set it up for Bobadilla, coming from behind. The Paraguayan masterfully, instead of finishing, made a short pass to Calleri, who shot from the penalty area into the net.

With the lead on the scoreboard and an opponent feeling the blow, the rest of the game was about ball work and passing time. Not without two curious incidents occurring first. After one of the floodlights went out, it was the turn of Chapecoense's goal net to fall. At least it broke the monotony (not that a ball hitting the post by Bobadilla and a disallowed goal by Marcos Antônio hadn't already done enough)…

The Brasileirão leader now tries to maintain the good phase at 8:30 PM (Brasília time) on Sunday (15), against Bragantino, away from home.

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