Tapia hits best run since joining São Paulo, earns praise from Crespo | OneFootball

The forward Gonzalo Tapia was a starter for São Paulo on Sunday night in the 2-0 victory over Vasco, during the 31st round of the Brazilian Championship. The Chilean was chosen by coach Hernán Crespo to replace Luciano, who was suspended. After the triumph at São Januário, Tapia received praise from the coach.

“I am very happy with Gonza (Tapia). He arrived at a big club like São Paulo coming from another big one like River. He came with a great desire to work and understand that he needed to make a change in some way. He found confidence in his teammates and the technical staff and is working hard for the team. This is the type of player the commission wants. He accepts when he's out, when he has to play… His warrior spirit, his fighting, helped us,” praised Crespo.

Crespo explains substitution

Tapia stayed on the field until the 21st minute of the second half, when Crespo made his first substitutions. He took the Chilean out for Ferreira and put Rigoni in place of Lucas Moura. The coach explained that the substitution was a matter of energy management and not because he was dissatisfied with Tapia's performance.

“We needed a bit more energy up front, hence the change, not because he deserved to leave. But we have a sequence of games and we need to divide the energy. I am very happy with Gonzalo,” he explained.

Tapia's numbers at São Paulo

Tapia joined São Paulo in the middle of this season. Besides pleasing Crespo, he is also getting more chances in the team due to the various absences the club has. Currently, Tapia is experiencing his longest sequence with the São Paulo jersey, with six games (five as a starter). During this period, he scored two goals and provided one assist.

In total, for São Paulo, he has 14 games and four goals.

Next São Paulo game

São Paulo vs Flamengo Competition: Brazilian Championship (32nd round) Date and time: November 5, 2025 (Wednesday), at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) Location: Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP)

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