São Paulo shock Flamengo, come from behind in Copa do Brasil opener | OneFootball

One can have a criminal board of directors. One can make primary management mistakes. One can criticize the squad. One can think the coach is bad. One can consider the players weak.

But there is one thing that should never be questioned: the weight of São Paulo's jersey.

And if the performance in the Campeonato Paulista is below expectations, at least in the Brasileiro, the tricolor fan had a glimpse that things can indeed be better and that there are reasons to be optimistic.

Well, in the debut of this year's unique Brasileirão, starting right now, São Paulo showed that, above all, there are things that money can't buy. And above all, one must respect the only Brazilian three-time world champion.

Defying all predictions and expectations, calming the messengers of chaos and gaining momentum against off-field problems and the crisis in the State Championship, Tricolor defeated Flamengo with a comeback, winning 2-1 this Wednesday (28), at Morumbi. Essential and fundamental points, conquered over the 'bogeyman' of national football, if Hernán Crespo's goal is really just to reach 45 points.

It was a night of certainties for the tricolor team. A consistent team, which gave the impression of being dominated by the Carioca opponent, but from the start managed to perform and play.

In the first half, despite the occasional lapses of the defensive system, which again featured three defenders, allowing Flamengo to get too close in the midfield area (noting Arboleda's 'pass' in one of their chances), São Paulo articulated but without effective construction.

They had many problems with the decisive pass in the final third of the field, to create more effective plays. On the two occasions the offensive approach worked, Luciano and Calleri missed clear chances to open the scoring.

In the second half, everything changed.

Just 8 minutes in, Alex Sandro crossed for Pedro to chest the ball in the area for Gonzalo Plata to strike with no chance for Rafael.

It was the return of old ghosts. In the weekend's classic, São Paulo seemed to have things in order and missed decisive goals before conceding to Palmeiras and being defeated.

But the night was special. The competition was different. And at Morumbi, things get intense…

At 15 minutes, Marcos Antônio turned the game around for Enzo Díaz to cross perfectly for Luciano (always him in big games), to rise above the defense and head in to equalize.

If the draw could already be considered a surprise to some, Crespo's team decided to show it's time to give a response to the fans. And at 25 minutes, Pulgar intercepted a wrong pass from Luciano and gifted the ball to Danielzinho, who anticipated the marking and sealed São Paulo's comeback with his first goal for the new club.

Emotionally stable, something that didn't happen against Palmeiras, it was time to take advantage of the lead against the feared opponent.

Whether the victory was circumstantial or indeed proof of a new era for São Paulo, the fans will only know from Sunday (1/2), when they face Santos at home in the Paulistão, needing a win to escape the relegation battle. In the Brasileirão, they return to the field on Wednesday (4/2), at Vila Belmiro, again against the coastal rival.

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