Analysis: first-half wastefulness proves costly in São Paulo defeat | OneFootball

*By Henrique Zaneti

This Saturday, São Paulo lost 2-0 to Vitória at Barradão in a Brazilian Championship match. Tricolor created several scoring chances in the first half but was undone by its inefficiency, which proved costly when Lucas Ramon was sent off with the score already at 1-0.

Mistakes that proved costly

In the first half, Tricolor relied on the right flank to create most of its chances. Artur threatened twice down that side and got shots on target against Lucas Arcanjo, who turned in a strong performance in Vitória’s goal.

São Paulo had not really been under pressure until the goal, which came from a set-piece play. André Silva had a great chance after a mistake by the Bahia side’s defense, but wasted it. The missed opportunities by the São Paulo team would come back to haunt them in the second half, when Lucas Ramon was sent off for a reckless challenge on Matheuzinho.

Away from home, down to 10 men and needing to chase the result, Roger pushed the team forward, which opened up space for Vitória to counterattack. Racing against the clock, São Paulo had possession, but no longer had the same composure from the first half to build its plays and instead resorted to crosses.

It was precisely in the space left by Tricolor that the Bahia side doubled its lead with a stunning goal by Ramon after a well-worked move. At the press conference, Roger Machado acknowledged the reason for the goal conceded: “I opened the team up more, even with one man less, we dominated, we didn’t get that many shots off because they packed players behind the ball. Naturally you suffer on the counterattacks, and one of those created an imbalance that led to the second goal.”

It is clear that the match could have had a different outcome if the São Paulo side had taken its chances (at least three) in the first half, when it was on top until Vitória’s goal. Vitória made the most of the opportunities it created and deserved the result for its efficiency.

São Paulo’s next match

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