The fans from São Paulo and Athletico-PR, finally, breathe a sigh of relief. The victory of Tricolor over Juventude, by 3-1, and the goalless draw of Hurricane with Palmeiras ensured, this Monday (6), the permanence of São Paulo and Paraná in Serie A of the Brazilian Championship.
49/2nd | São Paulo 3×1 Youth
On Thursday, with Jaconi full and the vibration of Papada, we decided our future in Serie A! Fight to the end!
?Fernando Alves/ECYouth #UntilendPapo pic.twitter.com/zXd1UI0pjx
— EC Youth (@ECYouth) December 6, 2021
At Morumbi, four minutes into the first half, Emiliano Rigoni crossed from the right and fellow striker Luciano, headed, opened the scoring. At 42, Luciano deflected Reinaldo’s corner kick and goalkeeper Douglas Friedrich rebounded, which forward Jonathan Calleri took advantage of to extend.
The Gauchos pressed on in the final stage and cashed at 17 minutes. Full-back Michel Macedo crossed low on the right and forward Sorriso completed it to the net. Three minutes later, however, Miranda threw the ball into the area, Luciano appeared behind the back of fellow defender Rafael Foster and submitted the finish on Douglas Friedrich’s exit, guaranteeing the tricolor victory.
São Paulo rose to 48 points, provisionally in 12th position, opening five points to Z4, with one round to go. Juventude, for now in 16th, can finish the round in the relegation zone if Dourado score against Fortaleza, in a match that started at 20:00 (GMT) this Monday.
Arena tie
In the Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba, even though it was full of under-20 boys, Palmeiras scared Athletico-PR. On minute 20, full-back Gabriel Garcia crossed from the left and forward Vitinho headed the left post. At 34, the video referee (VAR) verified a possible penalty from Thiago Heleno, for hand ball in the area, but the images showed, at the origin of the move, a foul by Vitinho on also defender Pedro Henrique, which was marked.
End of the game.
We had several chances, but we couldn’t score. #athletic #Let’s go Hurricane pic.twitter.com/pWTzZboJBW— Athletico Paranaense (@AthleticoPR) December 6, 2021
Before the break, Hurricane pressed and would have opened the scoring with striker Pedro Rocha and midfielder Canesin, had it not been for two good saves by goalkeeper Vinícius. In the second half, the home team followed on top and had several chances to come out ahead, but their aim was wrong. When the ball went towards the goal, Vinícius saved a header from Bissoli and defender Michel avoided – almost on the line – what would be a great goal from also forward Nikão.
The tie took the Paraná, who currently occupy the 13th place, to 46 points, which prevents them from being reached by the teams that appear in the Z4. Palmeiras, with 63 points, does not lose the third position.
The last round of the Brazilian Nationals will be this Thursday (9), with all games starting at 21:30. Juventude face Corinthians at Alfredo Jaconi stadium, in Caxias do Sul (RS) and have to win if they want to avoid falling to Serie B. Palmeiras face Ceará at Arena Barueri, in greater São Paulo. São Paulo will visit América-MG at Independência, in Belo Horizonte, while Athletico will take Sport at Arena Pernambuco.
