Author: Soorya G
This match on Matchday 22 wasn’t played in time, but now the standings are complete. All the clubs played 24 matches.
Copa do Brasil champions São Paulo jumped into the top half of the Serie A Brazilian Championship with a tense 2-1 win over Coritiba, who remain in 20th place in the standings. In the remaining 14 games, the team needs to overcome the 12-point gap with the first team out of the relegation zone.
There were two goals in a tedious period of extra time in the first half, when Coritiba equalized and then conceded. São Paulo, however, have managed to return to the top half of the table after a worrying spell. The Copa do Brasil champions, with their victory over Coritiba, recorded only their eighth win of the championship campaign, which saw fierce competition this year. Several teams are eyeing second, third and fourth place in the league, making it a fascinating contest for neutrals.
São Paulo started without their new signing, Lucas Moura, as veteran coach Dorival Júnior opted to use the former Tottenham player on the bench. This was seen as a rotation by the coach after a hectic few weeks recently, as he also played the full 90 minutes against Flamengo in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil final. It didn’t take long for São Paulo to open the scoring, with defender Alan Franco’s goal in the 30th minute, after a set piece, gave the hosts the lead.
It’s worth noting that before that the hosts scored two goals, which were disallowed for offside. In the third minute, James and, in the 24th minute, Araújo.
However, the losers responded quickly, scoring in the sixth minute of the first half when Robson’s assist led to a goal for the robust Algerian striker Islam Slimani. The former Leicester City player converted a fairly easy chance and the visitors equalized. The tie didn’t last long as São Paulo were awarded a penalty within a few minutes. As first-half stoppage time approached 15 minutes, Luciano Neves went to the spot and converted a calm penalty to restore his side’s decisive lead.