São Paulo disappoint as Casares resigns, lose to Portuguesa at Morumbi | OneFootball

On the day that Julio Casares resigned and left the club for good, on the day that Márcio Carlomagno’s dismissal was finalized by the new president, on the day the police carried out operations against those involved in the VIP box scandal…

On the day that the fans breathed a sigh of relief at the end of a dark reign and regained hope for better days, all that was needed was for the São Paulo team to deliver on the field to warm tricolor hearts on the cold night in São Paulo.

It was a simple task, right? Wrong. While things off the field seemed to have taken a new direction, on the field, the problems continued and a São Paulo side with its fourth different lineup in four matches in the Campeonato Paulista showed more weaknesses than strengths in every sector and ended up falling to Portuguesa, losing 3-2 at Morumbi this Wednesday (21st).

The signs that it was going to be a tough night appeared even before the ball started rolling. While coach Hernán Crespo confirmed the tactical scheme preferred by four out of five fans—a 4-3-3 with wide wingers—São Paulo supporters struggled to get into Morumbi due to facial recognition failures, and long lines could still be seen at the gates even after the match had started. In some sections, like the yellow stands, there was no other way: the solution was to open everything up for the crowd to come in (with or without tickets).

São Paulo hadn’t lost to their red-and-green rivals in 13 years and, despite high expectations, what was seen on the field in the first half was that the Canindé side was not intimidated. Dória and Rafael Tolói paired up in central defense for the first time since 2015. And perhaps they were the only standouts. Calleri started as a starter for the first time after nine months. But the ball never reached him. In the first 20 minutes, Lusa took advantage of São Paulo’s spacing and dominated the action. Lucas, running at low speed, Cédric, as disappointing as ever, and the midfield duo Pablo Maia and Negrucci weren’t marking anyone, and the errant home side was in debt.

After the hydration break (despite the cold and dry night), São Paulo improved, the wingers managed to play more vertically, and the team started to appear in attack more regularly, but still couldn’t find the final pass to finish. Better for Lusa, who took advantage of the spaces left by São Paulo’s advance and appeared twice with extreme danger on the counterattack, only failing to open the scoring thanks to an excellent intervention by Rafael, who worked miracles to save the day.

After the break, any instructions from Crespo seemed to have no time to sink in, as just four minutes in, the visitors struck. Gabriel Pires launched João Vítor down the right wing. He dribbled past Nicolas and crossed perfectly for Renê to beat Tolói to the ball and open the scoring.

Falling behind on the scoreboard made things even more complicated, but Crespo’s changes at least helped São Paulo maintain possession. In the 30th minute, Calleri showed why he was missed so much last year. In a moment of pure opportunism, he received a through ball from Pedro Ferreira between Portuguesa’s defenders in midfield, broke away, and finished to tie the game.

Well, with the score level, fresh legs on the field, and everything set for São Paulo to go for the comeback. But then came Nicolas’ unfortunate moment of the night. In the 34th minute, the young full-back ended up bringing down Renê in the box in a play that didn’t seem particularly dangerous, and a penalty was awarded. The Lusa striker converted and put the visitors back in front.

São Paulo’s frustration was sealed in the 43rd minute, with Maceió taking advantage of a rebound given by Rafael after a shot from Renê and scoring Lusa’s third. In stoppage time, Calleri scored his second to reduce the deficit, but it was already too late.

The defeat greatly complicates São Paulo’s situation in the standings. The team reaches the halfway point of the league phase without having entered the G-8 even once. They remain on four points, in 12th place. At 6:30 pm (Brasília time) next Saturday (24th), a tough challenge: the derby against Palmeiras, in Barueri (SP). Victory has become essential.

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