Sabino: Makeshift defence untested, praises Luiz Gustavo, Negrucci | OneFootball

Simply with four absences in defense, São Paulo took to the field with a new defense formed by Negrucci, Luiz Gustavo, returning after six months away, and Sabino. The trio performed well, held the result even with Tricolor having one man less, and helped the team defeat Fortaleza 2-0 on Thursday night (2), at Arena Castelão, in the Brasileirão.

And the defense was not only new on the field. One of the highlights of the victory, Sabino revealed that the trio didn't even have time to train together, due to the busy national calendar, but highlighted the performances of his teammates.

“There was no time for training. But we work a lot this way. Negrucci is a young player from the youth academy who works hard. I think we need to praise his performance. He is a hardworking guy who never gets discouraged, who is happy every day, even after a long time without playing. In football, hard work pays off,” praised the defender.

Another player who was highly praised was Luiz Gustavo, another midfielder who also played improvised in defense, and had a great performance in his return to the field.

“And Luizão (Luiz Gustavo), I am very happy with Luizão, he is one of my best friends, I suffered a lot during the months he was away, I think people don't really understand the seriousness of what happened, what could have happened, but I am very happy for Luizão. He is also a guy who battles a lot, who dedicates himself, and once again I say, hard work pays off, and today football rewarded him.”

OVERCOMING WITH ONE LESS

In the early minutes of the 1st half, already with a 1-0 lead, Tricolor had Rigoni sent off, but the Morumbi team managed to hold off Fortaleza's attacks well, despite the heat and poor field conditions, as Sabino pointed out.

“The victory is very important, I think the context of the game explains our fight, our determination very well. Playing with one less player is difficult, especially here in Fortaleza, with the heat, the field is not one of the best, so it makes it harder. But this is the São Paulo that, since Crespo's arrival, the fans want to see, a São Paulo that fights, that gives its all, and today was a demonstration of that.”

MORE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TEAM

“Very happy, I think when I arrived here I wanted to have a sequence of games, I think I had a sequence. I think not the way I wanted, because Arboleda got injured, and nobody wants that. But football is like that, I think I took advantage of the opportunities given to me. I think it's the result of a lot of work, daily.”

“I think the staff helps a lot, the teammates help a lot so you don't get discouraged. And hard work pays off, right? I think this is the return of everything I've been doing since last year, I am very happy,” celebrated the São Paulo defender.

Revitalized with the somewhat heroic result, Tricolor renews its energy for another important decision: the classic against rival Palmeiras, its next commitment in the Brasileirão, at 4 pm (Brasília time) this Sunday (5), at Morumbi.

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