New board's debut: São Paulo held by rivals Corinthians late on in derby | OneFootball

The departure of Julio Casares from the presidency seems to have given a new motivational freshness to São Paulo. And, on the second day of Harry Massis Júnior as the tricolor leader, the Morumbi club ended in a draw in Itaquera.

On the afternoon of this Sunday (18th), São Paulo had a consistent performance, far from the optimism and intensity shown midweek, but enough to secure a 1-1 draw with its biggest rival, Corinthians, in the classic match valid for the third round of the Campeonato Paulista.

The result is somewhat positive to celebrate the new phase of hope that the Tricolor is experiencing with the change of president and the fans' expectation that the team will leave the police headlines and become a protagonist in sports news. But evidently, it leaves a bitter taste for conceding the equalizer almost in stoppage time.

The redeeming goal in Itaquera was scored by Tapia. At 28 minutes into the first half, Danielzinho sprinted freely down the left wing and crossed perfectly for the Chilean to rise and head into the net.

For those accustomed to coach Hernán Crespo and his rigid schemes, usually variations of the 3-5-2, it was another surprise, as he changed everything once again. After the midweek 4-3-3, he now opted for a traditional 4-4-2, with Lucas once again being the constructive pillar, giving freedom to the full-backs to run the flanks and Luciano and Tapia in attack.

In part, it worked. The team seemed to understand the tactical game plan and behaved well, despite struggling in construction and articulation. Without the escape valves they had against São Bernardo, it was somewhat pragmatic but functional, especially playing away from home.

Two points complicated São Paulo's plans. First, the refereeing by João Vitor Gobi, who started by trying to impose discipline excessively, handing out yellow cards (all to São Paulo, indeed). When he realized he might end up sending someone off in the first half, he changed his criteria. And favored the home team, who abused fouls and bravado against the inertia of a referee ill-prepared for a game of this magnitude.

The second complicating factor was the defensively uninspired day for some players. In defense, Arboleda started the game below average and complicated many plays, as well as a certain lack of consistency in the defensive axis in front of the defense line.

Fortunately, there was a certain willingness to overcome the problems on the field and impose themselves. But, of course, on the other side was an opponent pushed by the crowd, who had the best opportunities and maintained dominance in ball possession, playing all the time in a high press with São Paulo rarely appearing in attack in uninspired breakaways.

In the final stage, this was the main tone, with a home team stuck against a visitor that did not want to attack. Crespo even made changes to try to find offensive escape mechanisms, like Ferreirinha. But the outcome was predictable. At 44 minutes, Matheus Pereira found Pedro Raul inside the area. He controlled, set up the play, and passed to Breno Bidon, who shot from the edge of the area and beat Rafael.

The result keeps the team out of the qualifying zone for the State Championship playoffs. They are in ninth place, with four points. On Wednesday (21st), at 7:30 PM (Brasília time), there is another classic: Portuguesa, at Morumbi.

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