Rafael bucks the trend and shines amid São Paulo’s crisis | OneFootball

Rafael is experiencing a moment of ascension in this final stretch of the season, going against the grain of the São Paulo squad, which is suffering a major crisis after the elimination in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores.

The Tricolor goalkeeper has been making a series of difficult saves in his team’s recent matches. São Paulo continues to lose and drop down the Brasileirão standings; however, the damage could have been even greater if Rafael were not between the posts.

According to sofascore, among the goalkeepers who have prevented the most goals in the Campeonato Brasileiro, Rafael ranks fourth, with an average of 7.51 saves per game, behind only Rossi (8.79) from Flamengo, Tiago Volpi (9.77) from Grêmio, and Walter (11.25) from Mirassol.

Rafael has even made almost identical saves in São Paulo’s last two matches, against Grêmio and Mirassol, both away from home.

Against Grêmio, Pavón made a low cross to Cristian Oliveira, who struck first-time at the edge of the six-yard box, only to be stopped by Rafael. Against Mirassol, the São Paulo goalkeeper did the same when he came face-to-face with Renato Marques, preventing the opponent’s emphatic victory from turning into a rout.

At 36 years old, Rafael has expressed his desire several times to retire at São Paulo. The goalkeeper has managed to handle the pressure well and has become the most successful to play for the club since Rogério Ceni’s retirement, overcoming the fans’ initial doubts.

While Hernán Crespo racks his brain to find a way to get his team scoring points again in the Brasileirão, Rafael, match after match, shows that at least when it comes to São Paulo’s goal, the coaching staff has nothing to worry about. Otherwise, Tricolor could be fighting against relegation.

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