São Paulo v Flamengo: Tricolor clinical, Marcos Antônio impresses | OneFootball

São Paulo had to be extremely precise, combative, and warrior-like to defeat Flamengo 2-1 on Wednesday night (28) in their Brasileirão debut. There was a record number of tackles, players standing out for their defensive actions, and the team took advantage of the few chances they created, turning them into goals and victory at Morumbi.

The squad showed the fans that they are indeed capable of beating any opponent, as they faced none other than the current national and South American champions. They played as they should—compact, fighting, giving no space, but without giving up on attacking.

According to data from the page ‘Jogo em Números’, Tricolor had only 32% presence in the attacking third, created little on the ground, tried more long balls, and converted their only two big chances into goals. It was with a ‘long ball forward’, but with the quality of Marcos Antônio, that the midfielder sliced a beautiful pass to Enzo Díaz, who sped down the flank and crossed perfectly for Luciano to equalize.

The Carioca rival had more possession, greater offensive presence, more passing exchanges, and threatened Rafael’s goal more, but were more wasteful in finishing than the precise São Paulo.

According to what the teams produced at Morumbi in terms of expected goals, the probability of Tricolor winning 2-1 was just 3%, showing the level of efficiency the team needed to come out victorious in front of their fans.

As reported by the page ‘SPFC Estatísticas’, São Paulo made 30 tackles in the match against Flamengo, the highest number of tackles in a single game for the team since 2022.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MARCOS ANTÔNIO

Marcos Antônio had an unusually poor first half against Flamengo, missing passes he usually completes and unable to create as in other games. Of course, the rival’s intensity and quality made things difficult. He didn’t have a good first half, just like almost the entire team, especially in attack.

The second half came and everything changed. Even after conceding the first goal, it was with Marcos that the comeback began. Unmarked, the number 8 saw the locomotive Enzo sprinting down the left and delivered a perfect three-finger pass to the Argentine fullback, who then assisted Luciano to make it 1-1.

He loosened up, the passes started to connect, and Tricolor’s engine was running again. Of course, now with the beautiful help of Danielzinho, already an undisputed starter in Hernán Crespo’s team.

The midfielder from Mirassol scored his first goal for Tricolor against Flamengo, created two goal-scoring chances, had two shots, and made seven defensive actions in the win.

Marcos Antônio created two chances against Flamengo. In addition, he made ten defensive actions and had one shot blocked by the opposing defense.

CRESPO GIVES THANKS

at the club last season, according to numbers published by Sofascore.

There have been 30 games in this period, with four assists, nine big chances created, 37 key passes, 91% pass accuracy, 79% long pass accuracy, and 103 balls recovered. Numbers that please any coach.

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