Eight rounds later, there are no more unbeaten teams in the Brazilian Championship. The only team that did not know what it was like to lose in the competition so far, Sao Paulo was defeated this Sunday (11), at Arena Barueri, by Palmeiras.
The score seemed to go to a goalless draw, but Vitor Roque made a decisive move on the second half and scored in rebound. The goal still had to be validated by VAR after being annulled by impediment in the field.
With the triumph, Palmeiras goes to 19 points and resumes the isolated leadership of the championship. Complete the G4 Flamengo, Bragantino and Cruzeiro, which totaled points against Bahia, Grêmio and Sport, respectively.
The result leaves Tricolor Paulista parked in the nine points, 15th. Despite a good sequence of invincibility (12 games so far), the performance in the early matches of the Brazilian has not been good: before the king shock, there were six draws and only one victory, in another classic, against Santos.
The latest duel between the two teams marked precisely the last defeat of Tricolor before the departure in Barueri. In the semifinal of the Paulista Championship, Alviverde took the best, 1-0, in dispute marked by a controversial penalty. Since then, he had won five times and tied seven.
The game had a warm beginning, with the most thrown Palmeiras to the attack and many corner, but without danger to goalkeeper Rafael. With a hard time staying with the ball, Sao Paulo was trying to advance with Ferreirinha on the left side.
The best chance of the first half came with Stephen, 41 minutes, who tabulated with Allan, cleared and finished to the left of the goal.
Already the first great opportunity of Tricolor happened at eight of the second stage, in a robbery of the ball that culminated in the play of Ferreirinha. The striker cut inside, kicked firmly and stopped in defense of Weverton.
Soon after, Zubeldía made changes to try to improve the tricolor midfield. Oscar entered the place of Matheus Alves and Lucas Ferreira, in Cédric. Abel Ferreira replied stirring the attack, with the entrances of Felipe Anderson and Maurício, and betting on Lucas Evangelista as an option for the intermediate.
Luciano and Pablo Maia were the latest substitutions of São Paulo, which started playing for counterattacks. The alviverde, consequently, continued to create more, but kept it difficult to complete the plays.
The goal came out in additions, at 49, after Vitor Roque’s insistent move, who entered Stephen’s place. The center forward took the rebound in Felipe Anderson’s kick and puffed out the net. The goal was canceled by offside, but seconds later was confirmed by VAR.
Both teams return to the field in the middle of the week for Libertadores. Already classified for the round of 16 and with 100% success, Palmeiras receives Bolivar on Thursday (15), while Sao Paulo, also at home, depends only on a draw against Libertad to ensure the classification for the next phase.
