The last minutes have been decisive for São Paulo in the search for a better phase at the beginning of the season. After getting the victory over Santo André in stoppage time, now it was the turn of the turn over Ponte Preta to come at the end of the lights. In a blunder of the home team’s defense, Calleri appeared to secure the 2-1 victory.
The São Paulo life was suffered throughout the match. In yet another game with creation problems, Rogério Ceni’s team came out behind after a backsliding that resulted in a penalty by Jandrei in Lucca. In the charge, the striker opened the scoring.
In the smother, São Paulo managed to draw in the end with Gabriel Sara. In stoppage time, Calleri gave the Morumbi team the second consecutive victory, something that hadn’t happened for six months.
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what comes now
São Paulo returns to the field next Thursday (17), when they will face Inter de Limeira in Morumbi, at 21:30 (Brasília time). The day before, Ponte Preta will play another game at Moisés Lucarelli, this time against Botafogo-SP, at 19:00 (Brasília time).
Who did well: Gabriel Sara
The performance of the young midfielder was fundamental for the turnaround of São Paulo. When placed on the left side, Sara started to bother the defense of Ponte Preta and was awarded when looking for a tie for São Paulo.
Who was bad: Diego Costa
Cast once again as a starter, the young defender had many problems with the ball out. A short pass from him resulted in the Ponte-Pretana pressure that led to the goal. In that move, another problem: Diego Costa took a while to return to the area and left two opposing players free, allowing Lucca to try to dribble Jandrei and suffer the penalty.
Ceni makes more changes and gives Éder his first chance
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Rogério Ceni maintained the attitude of changing the lineups from one match to the next. In front of Ponte Preta, four players who played against Santo André went to the bench: Rafinha, Léo, Igor Gomes and Jonathan Calleri. In their places were Igor Vinícius, Reinaldo, Gabriel Neves and Éder, respectively.
The veteran striker was precisely the highlight of the lineup. After losing space with Crespo, Éder played just 46 minutes (not counting extras) since he started for the last time, against Chapecoense, on October 3, still under the command of the Argentine. With Ceni, he still hadn’t had a chance in the starting lineup.
Against Ponte Preta, Éder not only started playing, but also received the captain’s armband. With the ball rolling, however, he could do little in the first half. The shirt 23 left the area several times to give him an option, but São Paulo’s constant crossings made his work difficult.
São Paulo keeps the ball, but Ponte is fatal under pressure
São Paulo was the owner of the ball during the first half. Rogério Ceni’s team went to the locker room with 75% of possession. The number, however, did not translate into pressure on the Ponte Preta team. The tricolor team abused attempts on the sides and looked for crosses, almost always easily removed by the Campinas team. There were 17 balls in the area in the first 45 minutes, with only two finding a São Paulo athlete.
On the other side, Ponte Preta used speed to try to surprise São Paulo. The slow release of the tricolor ball was quickly pressured by Lucca and Pedro Júnior. And that’s how the hosts opened the scoring.
Diego Costa made a very short pass in midfield and forced Arboleda to run to correct the problem. The move made the attacking duo Ponte-Pretana go up to pressure the São Paulo defenders. With no space, Arboleda ended up sending the ball to the side.
Ponte Preta’s quick charge took São Paulo by surprise. Diego Costa did not return to the area and left two rivals free inside the area. When the ball arrived, Lucca only had the trouble of trying to dribble on Jandrei and get fouled inside the area. In the charge, he himself swung the nets for Ponte Preta.
São Paulo changes the scheme with three substitutions at once
São Paulo came back better for the second half, with Ponte Preta closing even more and giving up the high pressure that bothered the rival so much in the first stage. Even so, Rogério Ceni’s team could barely bother Ygor Vinhas. The best chance in the first third of the final stage came from Éder’s feet, who took a risk from outside the area and saw the ball pass close to the Ponte Pretana post.
When the clock struck 15 minutes into the second half, Rogério Ceni decided to change a lot. There were three substitutions: Pablo Maia in place of Gabriel Neves, Nikão in the place of Rodrigo Nestor and Calleri in place of Rigoni.
The exchanges also changed the tactics of São Paulo. Initially scaled in a 4-3-3, the tricolor team started to play in a 4-2-4, with only Pablo Maia and Gabriel Sara in the middle. In the attack, Nikão was on the right, with Alisson on the left and Éder and Calleri further ahead. A player with greater mobility, Éder began to act, many times, behind Calleri, as if he were a second striker.
Kleina responds with changes to Ponte Preta
At the same time that Ceni made three changes at São Paulo, Gilson Kleina also changed Ponte Preta. Pedro Júnior went out for Ribamar, a striker with a greater presence inside the area.
Ribamar required attention from São Paulo’s defensive system and prevented, for example, Rogério Ceni from considering taking out a defensive player to reinforce his attack. In a new wrong departure from São Paulo, the striker shot on the counterattack, but got in the way when trying to dribble the marking.
São Paulo seeks a turnaround in the pressure
The changes had already improved São Paulo, but it was a new exchange that fit the team once and for all. Igor Gomes came on for Alisson, which allowed Gabriel Sara to play wide on the left.
With freedom, the young midfielder gave São Paulo options on the left and bothered the Ponte Pretana defense. And that’s how the equalizing goal came. In the 41st minute, Marquinhos, who had entered shortly before, crossed in the right direction for Sara to head. Ygor Vinhas stretched out, but couldn’t avoid the goal.
The result looked set in stoppage time. But then came an incredible hesitation in the defense of Ponte Preta. After a kick from Jandrei, Moisés Ribeiro tried to touch inside the Ponte Pretana area and Calleri appeared to kick for Ygor Vinhas’ goal, guaranteeing the victory for São Paulo.
Jandrei takes the lead in the fight for title
Today’s match served to show that Jandrei is ahead of Tiago Volpi in the fight to be the holder of the goal for São Paulo. After four games with the two taking turns, shirt 93, who had started the game against Santo André, was kept for the match against Ponte Preta.
In the first half, it was practically not required. In the only kick that was in his own goal, in the penalty taken by Lucca, Jandrei could not prevent the ball from entering. It was the first penalty in normal time that São Paulo took the goal since December 2019, when Luciano converted for the Guild. Since then, eight hits have been missed by opponents.
Lucca: a top scorer birthday boy
One day away from turning 32, Lucca played an important role in the performance of Ponte Preta. In addition to converting the penalty that opened the scoring for the hosts, the striker bothered the São Paulo defense with high pressure alongside Pedro Júnior.
But as the most important thing is the ball in the net, his converted penalty put him at the top of Paulistão’s top scorer. He scored five times in his Ponte Preta games in the competition.
DATASHEET
PONTE PRETA X SÃO PAULO
Reason: 6th round of Paulistão
Date and time: February 13, 2022, at 6:30 pm (Brasília time)
Local: Moisés Lucarelli Stadium, in Campinas (SP)
Public: 5,404 people
Income: R$ 125.300,00
Referee: Raphael Claus
Auxiliaries: Danilo Ricardo Simon Manis and Evandro de Melo Lima
WHERE: Thiago Duarte Peixoto
goals: Lucca (26’/1ºT), for Ponte Preta; Gabriel Sara (41’/Q2) and Jonathan Calleri (47’/Q2), for São Paulo
yellow cards: Jean Carlos, by Ponte Preta; Diego Costa, for Sao Paulo
red cards: –
BLACK BRIDGE: Ygor Vinhas; Thiago Lopes, Léo Santos (Fábio Sanches) and Fabrício; Kevin, Wesley (Moisés Ribeiro), Léo Naldi, Fessin (Marcos Júnior), Jean Carlos (Norberto); Pedro Júnior (Ribamar) and Lucca. Coach: Gilson Kleina
SÃO PAULO: Jandrei; Igor Vinícius, Diego Costa, Arboleda and Reinaldo; Gabriel (Pablo Maia), Nestor (Nikão) and Gabriel Sara; Rigoni (Calleri), Alisson (Igor Gomes) and Éder (Marquinhos). Coach: Rogerio Ceni
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