Crespo’s new São Paulo end woes to seal first Paulistão win at Morumbi | OneFootball

After almost three months away from home, São Paulo welcomed São Bernardo on Thursday night (15th), under pressure both on and off the field due to the turbulent moment the club is experiencing—whether politically, with the imminent vote on the impeachment of president Julio Casares, or in the Campeonato Paulista, where they needed to recover from the crushing defeat in their debut against Mirassol.

The reunion with the tricolor temple allowed no surprises, and São Paulo, with a good performance but facing adverse weather and a heavy pitch, won 1-0 to defeat their opponent from Greater ABC and secure the crucial first victory in the State Championship, aiming to regain the fans' confidence at a pivotal moment for the club's future.

Aware of the need to deliver a response upon returning home, coach Hernán Crespo fulfilled expectations and changed everything in the team. He abandoned the three-center-back system and set up a 4-3-3 with wingers. Lucas returned to the starting lineup, while previously undisputed starters like Luciano, Bobadilla, Marcos Antônio, and Alan Franco were left out (the latter wasn't even listed due to injury risk).

Indeed, the new formation promised a São Paulo with more attacking outlets, greater intensity, and less rigidity, with increased ability to orchestrate play.

That would have been the case, if not for one detail: the heavy rain that fell on Morumbi throughout the match. There was so much water that even the drainage system couldn't keep up, and the field became extremely heavy, complicating Crespo's game plan.

Adaptation to the conditions was necessary, which favored the visitors, who even started better. And the new São Paulo responded, managing to work their play and maintain relative control of the action on the field, even if they lacked better finishing.

Even so, chances emerged. Two of them drew gasps from the small crowd that braved the rain to watch the team: a shot by Lucca that hit the post and a cross from Ferreirinha that the defense deflected poorly, almost catching the goalkeeper by surprise.

After halftime, with the usual tributes to Casares mainly coming from the organized supporters' section, São Bernardo returned more daring and nearly surprised São Paulo with precise crosses that required good saves from Rafael.

Then Crespo decided to bring on another novelty from the bench: Calleri. With the pitch showing signs of improvement, perhaps a skillful finisher could improve the team's chances. At least ball control and hold-up play, which were nonexistent with Tapia, appeared.

With more objectivity up front and maintaining good tactical discipline, it felt like it was only a matter of time before the goal came. And so it was. In the 33rd minute, after a dangerous attempt from São Bernardo, São Paulo scored their first goal in the Paulistão. Danielzinho delivered a good free kick into the box, Arboleda flicked it on, hit the crossbar, and Luciano pounced on the rebound, finishing with great skill with his left foot into the top corner.

In stoppage time, the game’s controversy. Referee Murilo Tarrega Victor awarded a penalty after Ferreirinha fell in the box, supposedly touched by a São Bernardo defender. But VAR intervened and, after reviewing the monitor, the referee reversed his decision. No one cared anymore, as the victory was already secured.

Buoyed by their first win in the State Championship and, perhaps, with the political situation calmed after the crucial day in the Deliberative Council, São Paulo returns to the field at 4 p.m. (Brasília time) on Sunday (18th) for the first derby of the competition, against rivals Corinthians, in Itaquera.

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