Author: Serg Atrakhov, Vishwajit Sawant
São Paulo – Corinthians – 2:0
In the 315th “Majestosa”, São Paulo took revenge on Corinthians in 2002. On that occasion, the teams also met in the semi-finals of the Copa do Brasil. After losing 0-2 at home, São Paulo won 2-1 at Corinthians and failed to reach the final. The satisfaction came 21 years later.
After a 2-1 defeat in the first leg at the Arena Neo Química
São Paulo faced the challenge of securing a two-goal lead to advance in regulation time. The atmosphere in the Morumbi was electric, with more than 62,000 fans cheering on the Tricolor’s impetuous start. In the first half, the “Morumbi” hosts destroyed the visitors like a tsunami. Just look at the ratio of shots on goal: 14 (5 on target) for the hosts – 1 (0 on target) for the visitors. It’s no surprise that this number has turned into goals. In the 13th minute, Pablo Maia provided an assist for Wellington Rato – 1-0. In the 32nd minute, Lucas Moura played a wall game with a teammate and, after deceiving the goalkeeper, made it 2-0.
You can list all the moments of the hosts for a long time. Corinthians were lucky to go in at half-time trailing 0-2 and not 0-5. This was exactly the situation in which it is said that “the team is in a state of Groggy”. Lucas Moura is particularly noteworthy. The former PSG and Tottenham player has added creativity to the attack. I found partners with passes, opened up for passes, hit the goal… In the first half, Corinthians only threatened Rafael’s goal once. After a corner, Yuri Alberto headed the ball close to the left post.
During the break, Vanderlei Luxemburgo made two substitutions in one go, but this didn’t significantly affect the tempo of the game. The home side, after securing an acceptable scoreline for themselves, “slowed down” a little, giving the initiative to their opponents. At the same time, in the 62nd minute, they should have made it 3-0. First, Cassio saved Jonathan Calleri’s shot and then Wellington Rato hit a slightly inaccurate shot.
Luxemburgo reacted immediately, launching three new players at once. São Paulo concentrated on defensive action, keeping the scoreboard ticking over and playing very close to their goal. As a result, the opposition created several chances – a couple of times the ball went close to the post. The real chance to take the game to a penalty shoot-out in the 84th minute was missed by substitute Matias Rojas. Rafael saved by pulling the ball back to the ‘nine’. And a few seconds before the final whistle, he repelled his opponent’s shot from a meter away, as it turned out afterwards.
This brought to an end Corinthians’ 11-game unbeaten run in all tournaments (8-3-0), which had lasted a month and a half. The team will now focus on the league matches and the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana, where Estudiantes await them.
In the final (September 17-24), São Paulo will play Flamengo. Incidentally, a week ago, these clubs played each other in the league, with the match ending 1:1.
In addition, São Paulo reached the final of the Copa do Brasil for the second time in their history. In 2000, the team lost 0-0 and 1-2 to Cruzeiro. For comparison’s sake, Flamengo, the current owners of the trophy, have won it four times – 1990, 2006, 2013, 2022 (and lost four more times in the final: 1997, 2003, 2004, 2017).