São Paulo stun Flamengo with comeback in Brasileirão opener | OneFootball

You can have a criminal board of directors. You can make basic management mistakes. You can criticize the squad. You can think the coach is bad. You can consider the players weak.

But there is one thing that should never be questioned: the weight of São Paulo’s jersey.

And if the performance in the Campeonato Paulista is below expectations, at least in the Brasileirão, the tricolor fan had some relief that things can indeed get better and that there are reasons to be optimistic.

Well then, in the debut of this year’s unique Brasileirão, starting right now, São Paulo showed that, above all else, there are things that money can’t buy. And, above all, you must respect the only Brazilian team to have won the world championship three times.

Defying all predictions and expectations, calming the messengers of chaos and gaining momentum against off-field problems and the crisis in the State Championship, Tricolor came from behind to beat Flamengo 2-1 this Wednesday (28th) at Morumbi. Essential and fundamental points, won against the ‘bogeyman’ of national football, in case Hernán Crespo’s goal really is just to reach 45 points.

It was a night of certainties for the tricolor team. A consistent team, which gave the impression of being dominated by the team from Rio, but from the start managed to perform and play.

In the first half, despite some defensive lapses, with the system once again featuring three center-backs, which allowed Flamengo to get too close to the edge of the box (not to mention Arboleda’s ‘pass’ that gave them a chance), São Paulo was trying to build up play, but without any real effectiveness.

They had many problems with the decisive pass in the final third, struggling to create more effective plays. On the two occasions when the offensive approach worked, Luciano and Calleri missed clear chances to open the scoring.

In the second half, everything changed.

Just eight minutes in, Alex Sandro crossed for Pedro to chest the ball down in the box for Gonzalo Plata to finish with no chance for Rafael.

It was the return of old ghosts. In the derby over the weekend, São Paulo seemed to have things under control and missed decisive goals before conceding to Palmeiras and ending up defeated.

But this night was special. The competition was different. And at Morumbi, things get real…

At 15 minutes, Marcos Antônio switched play for Enzo Díaz to cross perfectly for Luciano (always him in big games), who rose above the defense to head in the equalizer.

If the draw could already be considered a surprise for some, Crespo’s team decided it was time to give the fans an answer. And at 25 minutes, Pulgar intercepted a bad pass from Luciano and gifted the ball to Danielzinho, who got ahead of the marker and sealed São Paulo’s comeback with his first goal for the new club.

Emotionally stable, unlike what happened against Palmeiras, it was time to make the most of the lead against the feared opponent.

Whether the victory was circumstantial or truly a sign of a new era for São Paulo, the fans will only know starting Sunday (2/1), when they face Santos at home in the Paulistão, needing a win to escape the relegation battle. In the Brasileirão, they return to the field on Wednesday (2/4), at Vila Belmiro, once again against their coastal rivals.

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