Nacional and Sao Paulo, Rough and Tumble.
By: Mauro | May 1st, 2008Overall the match was not a match for the casual viewer. Lots of starts and stops due to fouls and rough play. There were a couple of bright spots, like the shot by Pablo Caballero whose shot rebounded off the upper 90 of Rogerio Ceni’s goal. And then there was Bruno Fornaroli’s shot that carromed out of Ceni’s arms and headed toward goal only to be cleared by defender Alex Silva.
This was more a chess match than a football match. Playing with 4 defenders, Sao Paulo set out to stymy the play on the flanks from Nacional trying to keep the aerial game towards Richard Morales to a minimum. Adriano had a great opportunity to get his name on the score sheet when he had a powerful shot from outside the area that caused Nacional keeper Alexis Viera a bit of difficulty to contain.
In the second half, Nacional had three players receive yellow cards in the first ten minutes. Sao Paulo had a few really good chances but Alex Silva and Éder Luiz missed a couple of opportunities near the six yard box.
I spoke of Rogerio Ceni’s experience in Brazil and in the Copa Libertadores in my preview of this match. Last night, Rogerio Ceni played his 800th match in the Sao Paulo shirt.
With this result, Sao Paulo find themselves in a good position for the return leg at the Morumbi next week.
I had this match ending 1-1 with no goals separating these two. Nearing the end I feared another win on the shoulders of an Adriano wondergoal but this is still a good result for the “Tricolor do Morumbi.”
Check the CONMEBOL website for results, stats, articles and upcoming matches.
Category: Tournament News
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