Martín Benítez took the field 25 minutes into the second half. It was an attempt to give more creativity and finishing power to São Paulo. The midfielder, who questioned Hernán Crespo when the Argentine was coach at Morumbi, decided.
In a perfect free kick in extra time, he avoided the defeat of São Paulo and defined the tie by 1-1 with Fortaleza, at Arena Castelão, this Wednesday (10).
In São Paulo’s problematic second half, one of the biggest stones in the team’s shoe is Fortaleza. The northeastern team had won at Morumbi in the first round of the Brazilian Championship by 1-0 and threatened to repeat the dose in Ceará.
The tie kept Fortaleza in contention to remain in the G4 and win direct place in the group stage for the next Copa Libertadores. The team reached 49 points and is in fourth place. São Paulo, despite the relief for having avoided defeat, cannot escape the shadow of relegation. With 38, he is in 14th place in the table, five points from the descent zone.
It wasn’t just in the matches for the Brazilian that Fortaleza got the better of their rival. Before that, he had already eliminated him in the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil. They drew 2-2 at Morumbi and won 3-1 at home.
In the next two rounds, São Paulo will face rivals who are fighting for the title. On Sunday (14), receives Flamengo, 3rd place. On Wednesday (17), he visits deputy leader Palmeiras.
This fourth match marked Ceni’s return to Fortaleza. He was the team’s coach between 2018 and 2019, after leaving São Paulo. He also stayed in part of 2020, until he accepted a proposal to direct Flamengo. For Fortaleza, it won the 2018 Series B title, the 2019 Northeast Cup and the Ceará Championship in 2019 and 2020.
The first half at Castelão was a rerun of other São Paulo games as a visitor during the season. Slow, predictable and unimaginative in attack, the team failed to threaten Fortaleza. The good thing, for the people from São Paulo, is that the owners of the house were also unable to create anything.
One of the main options for setting up Fortaleza was Lucas Lima, borrowed from Palmeiras to try to revive his career in the Northeast.
In the second half, the Cearenses explored an old weakness of São Paulo: the right flank. In a move built thanks to the insistence of Depietri by that sector of the visiting defense, Robson completed for the goal.
The striker, who had already scored the winning goal in the first round, passed by São Paulo in 2016, but did not score once with the shirt of the Morumbi club.
São Paulo managed long shots in the second half, but without being able to penetrate the opposing area. A sign of the team’s offensive difficulty is that striker Luciano reached the 10th game without scoring.
Even when it looked like something could go right for the São Paulo, the VAR appeared. Vitor Bueno came in at 35 of the 2nd time. Two minutes later, the first time he was fired, he landed a kick and tied. The move was canceled more than a minute later due to an impediment in the free-kick that gave rise to the submission.
It would take a special moment, with a lot of quality to prevent São Paulo from being defeated. That was when Benítez’s division appeared, which, by default, gave the final numbers to the match and a point for São Paulo in the fight against relegation.
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