Mengao strikes against Sao Paulo (1-3) with goals from Joao Gomes, Gabigol and Cebolinha, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the KO tournament
The rubronegros have the morale eaten by those of Rogerio Ceni, whom they have already defeated in the three games played in 2022
Too much Flamengo for a Sao Paulo that gave everything but had to surrender to the evidence. The team of Dorival Junior showed in the first leg of the semifinals of the Copa do Brasil that it is the team that is in the best form in the country: they won a Morumbí filled by 1-3, with goals from Joao Gomes (a very interesting 21-year-old midfielder), Gabigol and one last of Everton Cebolinha in the 93rd minute, he scored for the locals Rodrigo Nestor.
Rio de Janeiro’s victory was unappealable and the São Paulo will need a Maracanazo to try to reach the final. The precedents are not good since they have lost all three heads-up this season: both in the Brasileirao and now in the KO tournament.
It was an electric match played with very high revolutions, with two teams that wanted possession and that launched without complexes in search of victory. The match turned into a heavyweight battle.
The one who gave the first direct was Flamengo who opened the scoring with a collective play that ended the midfielder Joao Gomes head (0-1 min. 12). An early goal that gave even more confidence to the cariocas, who are launched in the decisive phase of the season, but that did not wrinkle, much less to those of Rogerio Ceni, convinced that they could turn around and offering the best minutes of the year.
The situation was definitely complicated for the Tricolor from São Paulo with Gabigol’s 0-2 (min. 66), who took advantage of a bad rebound from goalkeeper Jandrei. Here the tie began to be seen for sentencing. Flamengo, with two surgical transitions, had left the locals KO.
The best of the match, however, was yet to come. Rogerio Ceni He moved the bench well. Rodrigo Nestor (a canterano that must be followed) reduced distances, with the involuntary help of the former Blaugrana Arturo vidal. 1-2 and there were 12 minutes left. The Morumbí caught fire and Sao Paulo, as if it were the old days, went to look for the tie, locking Flamengo in their area. It was a frenetic ending.
The tie was smelled, that it would not have been an unfair result, but, in a counterattack, Everton Cebolinha, in injury time, he gave the final blow 1-3. And there it all ended. Flamengo extended their current winning streak and have gone thirteen games undefeated on the verge of playing the semifinals of the Libertadores against Vélez Sarsfield.
Sao Paulo, for its part, can forget about the Copa do Brasil and focus on another semifinal, the Copa Sudamericana, which will play as a favorite against At. Goianian.