Should've been a rout, but São Paulo waste red card, miss pen v Juventude | OneFootball

A fragile, second-division opponent that came to Morumbi with a purely defensive approach. All of that would already have been enough for the clash against Juventude on Tuesday night (21), at Morumbi, to calm the fans’ tempers toward Roger Machado and Rui Costa, even if only a little.

But, truth be told, the fact is that São Paulo’s 1-0 win in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 32 really only left a sense of wanting more and perhaps even increased the dissatisfaction. A narrow scoreline against an opponent that had a player sent off and even saw a penalty missed. The proof came at the end, with boos aimed at the team and insults.

All right, speaking pragmatically, the home duty was done. Tricolor now only needs a draw in the return leg, on May 13 (Wednesday), at 7 p.m. (Brasília time), in Caxias do Sul (RS), to qualify for the round of 16. But that advantage should have been much bigger.

Roger’s unusual lineup, hit by absences especially in midfield, took time to click. The opening 25 minutes were from a team that struggled to build offensively, tied up in the Gaúchos’ defensive web and, when it had moments of creativity and the impression of sustained pressure, ended up being stopped by fouls.

But, let’s be honest, Roger saw what was happening and changed a few pieces. Cauly started dropping deeper to get on the ball, easing the burden mainly on Danielzinho, disrupted Juventude’s marking, and Artur emerged as an interesting outlet on the right.

By the 31st minute, the scenario was already completely favorable to São Paulo, dominant in every phase and with more penetration and variety in play. It was the ideal setting to ease the pressure and score a goal. And that is what happened. Artur, on one of his bursts forward, delivered a perfect cross for Luciano to glance home with a header.

In other times, people would say the floodgates were open. And that was where Tricolor’s problems lay. They created in abundance, but failed to convert. In the 39th minute, Artur, alone in the box, could not finish off a cross. On the very next play, Cauly broke through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and missed his shot.

If São Paulo needed a little extra push, Juventude themselves lent a hand. Right after halftime, in the 2nd minute, Diogo Barbosa made a reckless sliding tackle on Luciano and was sent off after a VAR recommendation.

With one more man on the field, 65% possession, and the opponent’s tactics in ruins, it was time to get payback, time to kick the crisis away… But nothing happened. The chances kept coming, but they still would not put them away. In the 17th minute, Artur hit the post after a corner kick. On the rebound, Calleri had time to control the ball and pick his spot. But the goalkeeper saved the shot.

That sequence alone was enough to drive the fans crazy, but the most unbelievable moment came in the 29th minute, when Danielzinho and Luciano combined and laid it on a plate for Calleri, alone and facing the goal, only for him to blast over the bar.

As if even the referee had grown irritated by Tricolor’s wastefulness, in the 42nd minute he awarded a penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Léo Índio in the box. Now it would happen, right? Wrong! Calleri telegraphed the kick and the goalkeeper saved it, confirming that it really was a barren night at Morumbi.

After a night like that, with Roger hanging on to his job as best he can, São Paulo’s attention now turns to the Brazilian Championship, where the team will try to stay in the top four when it faces Mirassol at 9 p.m. (Brasília time) this Saturday (25), at Brinco de Ouro, since Morumbi will be unavailable due to a concert.

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