The triumph of the Tricolor Paulista, with a header from Calleri, (0-1), leaves Jorge Sampaoli on the wire, highly questioned at Flamengo
Sao Paulo was a much more consistent team and has everything in its favor to finally win its first Brazilian KO tournament
Sao Paulo left Jorge Sampaoli (almost) sentenced to Flamengo. His victory (0-1) in Maracaná, in the first leg of the final of the Copa do Brasil, in a match in which he was clearly superior, may end up precipitating the farewell of the charismatic Argentine coach, who was already in a very delicate situation since the premature elimination in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
DATASHEET
Copa do Brasil – Final round
FLA
SPO
ALIGNMENTS
Flamengo
Matheus Cunha, Wesley (Matheuzinho, 78′), Fabricio Bruno, Leo Pereira, Ayrton Lucas, Erick Pulgar (Thiago Maia, 78′), Gerson, Victor Hugo (Éverton Ribeiro, 46′), Burno Henrique, Gabigol (Everton Cebolinha, 74′) y Pedro.
Sao Paulo FC
Rafael, Rafinha, Arboleda, Beraldo, Caio Paulista (Wellington, 73′), Alisson (Gabriel Neves, 59′), Pablo Maia, Wellington Rato (Juan, 73′), Lucas Moura (Luciano, 65′), Rodrigo Nestor ( Michel Araújo, 65′) and Calleri.
Referee
Anderson Daronco. TA: Leo Pereira (14′), Victor Hugo (36′) / Alisson (38′)
Incidences
Match played at the Maracaná stadium with 67,350 spectators, on a hot afternoon in Rio de Janeiro with 31 degrees.
The great winner of the afternoon was Dorival Juniorwho, in 2022, won the Brazilian KO tournament and the Libertadores with Flamengo, but that the board he presides Rodolfo Landim, kicked him out in bad shape in December. And the coach, now at Sao Paulo, experienced his own (partial) revenge and won the tactical battle against ‘Branch’.
The thing about Flamengo was nonsense. He threw the entire first half overboard, in which his game was so ineffective that he went to the locker room to reflect without having finished even once: neither inside nor outside the three sticks.
The main problem of the Rio team, to the despair of their ‘torcida’ that filled the Maracaná, was not the lack of punch but the tactical mess against a very well organized Sao Paulo, who took possession of the ball, and who played with great discretion.
Those of Dorival JuniorFurthermore, they culminated their good first half with a psychological goal in the 45th minute. Rodrigo Nestor comfortably centered a long ball from the right and Calleri overcame the marking of Fabricio Bruno to score with an impressive header.
Sampaoli fixed something at half-time. And Flamengo finally took control of the match, but it was very difficult for them to create danger in the final third. He didn’t create real scoring chances. In front of them was a Sao Paulo team that was satisfied with the 0-1 score and decided to close down to put its most reactive version into practice.
As the minutes ticked down, nervousness took over Maracaná. And the ‘torcida’ showed her anger at a defeat, which could leave ‘Mengao’ without titles in 2023, when the year began with the perspective of winning it all.
One of the stars of the team, Gabigolwho was injured in his rear thigh, was booed, while the president and vice president of football, Marcos Braz, were insulted. At the end of the game, there was a big fight. The most popular club in the country is a can of thunder ready to explode.
Sao Paulo, with everything in its favor, will have the opportunity to finish the job next Sunday at the Morumbí stadium.