Can São Paulo sustain a top-four push in the Brasileiro? Roger's take | OneFootball

São Paulo went three matches without a win after drawing 1-1 with Internacional on Wednesday night at Beira-Rio Stadium in the ninth round of the Brazilian Championship. Tricolor ended up losing second place after Fluminense’s win, but remained in the top four thanks to Flamengo’s defeat.

With the results of the ninth round, the São Paulo side dropped from second to fourth place, with 17 points. Roger knows he will face a major challenge ahead if he wants to keep Tricolor in the top four, especially while competing in three tournaments at the same time.

In addition to the Brasileirão, São Paulo will also begin its Copa Sudamericana and Copa do Brasil campaigns this April. With the team’s focus split across three fronts, the coach was asked whether he believes Tricolor can maintain its top-four run. He made it clear that, to do so, he will use every available player, stressing his confidence in the squad.

The manager even mentioned youngster Tetê. The 18-year-old, a winger with pace and one-on-one ability, is in Roger’s plans and made his debut against Internacional when he came on in the closing minutes.

“That is every coach’s challenge. When things start to get tighter, the matches where you sometimes need to make different moves regarding who will take the field, that’s when the puzzle begins. That’s why I made a point of putting Tetê in today, to break the ice. Because soon, with these switches between competitions, I’m going to need these players available. The youngsters who went to the national team and didn’t play, we allowed them to play for the under-20s precisely so they can be in good shape when we need them,” Roger explained.

Against Inter, for example, São Paulo did not have youngsters Djhordney, Pedro Ferreira, Lucca and Igor Felisberto, who were away on duty with the Brazilian national team. Ryan Francisco and Paulinho, meanwhile, are still recovering from their respective injuries.

“Training is great, but what really gets a player match fit is games. Now, there are eight matches until the break for the World Cup. We’re going to need everyone. Our squad is large, with a mix of experienced players, some seasoned youngsters and others with little experience. From this point on, we’ll really find out whether these players are ready or whether they need more time to develop,” he added.

São Paulo have four more Brazilian Championship fixtures in April. First, they host Cruzeiro this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Brasília time at Morumbis, in the 10th round.

After that, the São Paulo Tricolor face a run of two away matches against Vitória and Vasco. Finally, the team close out the month in Série A against Mirassol, also at Morumbis.

São Paulo’s next matches

São Paulo x Cruzeiro (10th round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: 04/04 (Saturday), at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Morumbis, in São Paulo (SP)

Boston River-URU x São Paulo (first round of the Copa Sudamericana) Date and time: 07/04 (Tuesday), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Centenario Stadium, in Montevideo (Uruguay)

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