São Paulo lose to Ceará amid protests and empty Morumbis after exit | OneFootball

São Paulo was defeated by Ceará this Monday, right at Morumbis, by 1-0, thanks to a goal by Pedro Henrique, in the 25th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. The match, the fourth consecutive loss for Tricolor, was marked by fan protests in front of the stadium and a much smaller crowd than usual, consequences of the elimination in the Libertadores quarter-finals.

Lucas, who is still in the process of returning to the field, played throughout the second half. Rafael Tolói, on the other hand, had to be substituted in the first half after feeling muscle pain, becoming the latest headache for São Paulo.

With another result below expectations at home, Tricolor will have to deal with even greater pressure in the coming days. The team urgently needs to react this season to at least secure a spot in the next edition of the Libertadores.

São Paulo will return to the field next Thursday when they visit Fortaleza at Arena Castelão at 7:30 PM (Brasília time), for the 26th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. Meanwhile, Ceará will face Vitória at Barradão on the same day, a bit earlier, at 7 PM (Brasília time).

Team Situation

With Monday's defeat, São Paulo remains in seventh place in the Campeonato Brasileiro but saw the gap with their opponents narrow. Fluminense, in eighth place, is just one point behind Tricolor and has two games in hand. In other words, if they win these two pending matches, they will surpass Hernán Crespo's team.

Ceará, on the other hand, climbed to 11th place and is now starting to look towards the top of the table, as they are only four points behind São Paulo, the first team outside the G6, the group that guarantees a spot in the next edition of the Copa Libertadores.

Match Summary

SÃO PAULO 0 X 1 CEARÁ

Competition: Campeonato Brasileiro  Location: Morumbis, in São Paulo  Date: September 29, 2025 (Monday)  Time: 8 PM (Brasília time) 🗣️ Attendance: 12,314 fans 💰 Revenue: R$ 480,951.00

Yellow Cards: Dieguinho, Lourenço, Guilherme (Ceará); Arboleda, Dinenno (São Paulo)  Red Cards: none

Refereeing

Goals

Ceará Pedro Henrique, at 11 of the 2nd half

SÃO PAULO

Rafael; Tolói (Sabino), Arboleda, and Alan Franco (Lucas); Cédric Soares (Juan Dinenno), Bobadilla, Alisson, Rodriguinho (Mailton), and Enzo Díaz; Ferreirinha (Lucca) and Luciano. Coach: Hernán Crespo.

CEARÁ

Bruno Ferreira; Fabiano Souza, Marcos Victor, Willian Machado, and Matheus Bahia; Richardson, Dieguinho (Zanocelo), and Lourenço (Fernando Sobral); Galeano (Guilherme), Paulo Baya (Paulo Henrique), and Pedro Raul (Vina). Coach: Léo Condé.

The Game

São Paulo was slightly superior to Ceará in the first half, but the visitors were the first to threaten. At 13 minutes, Fabiano Souza crossed perfectly for Pedro Raul to head, forcing a good save from goalkeeper Rafael.

São Paulo responded shortly after with Arboleda, who took advantage of a mistake by Ceará's goalkeeper and headed, but sent it wide. At 27, another chance for Tricolor. Bobadilla dispossessed Dieguinho, received from Luciano, and shot from the edge of the area, sending it just over the crossbar.

The clearest chance of the first half was with Rodriguinho, at 38. The midfielder got the rebound from a free-kick and shot hard, with the ball deflecting off Ceará's defense before hitting the crossbar. Subsequently, Cédric Soares made a beautiful individual play and crossed with the outside of his foot to Luciano, who headed wide.

Lucas Enters in the 2nd Half

Lucas was brought on at halftime and played the entire second half with the São Paulo team. However, it was Ferreirinha who almost opened the scoring just two minutes in, receiving at the edge of the area, making a good individual play, and shooting into the corner, hitting the post.

Ceará Opens the Scoring

But it was Ceará who managed to score after the second-half changes. At 11 minutes, Alisson tried to intercept a pass and ended up giving the ball to Pedro Henrique, who, inside the area, dribbled goalkeeper Rafael before finishing into the net, putting the visitors ahead.

Tricolor Goes on the Attack, Unsuccessfully

With Ceará's partial victory, coach Hernán Crespo was forced to make São Paulo even more offensive in the final stretch of the match in an attempt to at least avoid another home defeat. Lucca and Dinenno were brought on, and the Tricolor team played with four forwards, but it was to no avail.

Ceará Has Penalty Canceled by VAR

As if that wasn't enough, in the stoppage time of the second half, Ceará was awarded a penalty by referee Bruno Arleu de Araújo due to an alleged foul by Sabino on Guilherme. However, after a VAR review, the infraction was annulled. Thus, both teams had to settle for the 1-0 scoreline at Morumbis.

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