Roger: Defeat "hurts", São Paulo's strategy fell apart | OneFootball

Coach Roger Machado left the Morumbis pitch dissatisfied with the performance of São Paulo in the 1-0 defeat to Palmeiras last Saturday night, in the eighth round of the Brazilian Championship. The coach admitted that the tricolor team was unable to find solutions against Verdão’s deep defensive block, which opened the scoring just five minutes into the match.

“These two games [Atlético-MG and Palmeiras] were very similar. We fell behind on the scoreboard against teams that have a transition-based approach and strong defense, qualities that, when they take the lead, force the game to change strategy. The initial strategy was not to cross so many balls, but when we tried to play through the middle, we were counterattacked. The few spaces appeared on the flanks, hence the number of crosses, due to a very deep defense from a team that scored early,” explained the coach.

“The initial idea was to draw Palmeiras out of their half using Danielzinho and Bobadilla in the channels, pushing the full-backs wide to create width and have superiority in midfield. But after five minutes, the strategy fell apart with the early goal. Unfortunately, we managed to have volume, but not [create] clear goal chances,” he added.

São Paulo finished the Choque-Rei with 41 crosses, hitting only three, according to statistics platforms. Roger Machado acknowledged that the team overused aerial balls and needs to find new solutions. He also lamented the home defeat to their rival in front of 55,000 fans.

“Losing is never good. I tried not to focus on the time without beating our rival, but on the possibility of returning to the top of the table. It hurts a lot, but what hurts most is that our home was beautiful, 55,000 fans supporting us, and after the goal, they kept singing. Of course, they’re upset, and that upsets us too. At the same time, it makes us want to repay all that affection with a lot of hard work,” he analyzed.

Changes at halftime

Roger Machado also explained the changes made at halftime. In an attempt to make the team more offensive, the coach made three substitutions at once. He took off Enzo Díaz, Cauly, and Alan Franco to bring on Wendell, Tapia, and Arboleda. However, the changes had no effect.

“The decision to take off Cauly was because he had trouble finding space against almost man-to-man marking. He floated, joined the attack a lot, but wasn’t gaining a significant advantage there. And in the physical game often used by Palmeiras, we were succumbing and giving the ball back to the opponent too quickly. The idea was, with Luciano there and Tapia, to keep control of the ball in that sector, and with Luciano, who has a more physical style in midfield,” he evaluated.

“With Tapia, it was to have Calleri between the center-backs, and Tapia with a bit more movement in the few spaces that appeared. Then, Wendell came on to add more attacking power, and because Enzo had a yellow card in the first half, which could have been dangerous,” he continued.

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Roger praises refereeing

Finally, Roger Machado also praised the refereeing of the derby, led by Anderson Daronco. The topic was discussed before the Choque-Rei, with a statement from Abel Ferreira that started a series of exchanges between figures such as Rui Costa (São Paulo director), Anderson Barros (Palmeiras director), Leila Pereira (Palmeiras president) and Harry Massis (São Paulo president).

“Even with all the questioning, I was focused on what was happening on the pitch. Of course, when the referee whistles in a way that he barely appears, it’s because he did a good job. Daronco is an experienced guy. I missed a bit more urgency in speeding up the game at times, especially when the match was slowed down by our opponent, but overall he did not compromise. He managed the game well,” concluded the coach.

Standings situation

With the result, São Paulo suffered their second consecutive defeat in the Brazilian Championship and remained in second place with 16 points, but could still lose the runner-up spot if Bahia wins against Remo away from home this Sunday.

A Flamengo win by two or more goals would also take São Paulo out of second place. The Rubro-Negro faces Corinthians, also on Sunday, at the Neo Química Arena.

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