São Paulo asserted the advantage of playing at home and defeated Palmeiras 3-1 in front of 60,383 fans, on Wednesday night (30) at Morumbi stadium in the first match of the Paulista Championship final.
LET’S GO MY DEAR TRICOLOR ❤️?? pic.twitter.com/i8vHtmUCnL
— Sao Paulo FC (@SaoPauloFC) March 31, 2022
Alviverde and Tricolor will meet again next Sunday (3), from 16:00 (Brasília time) at Allianz Parque, to define who gets the title of the competition.
The first good opportunity for São Paulo was a shot on the crossbar by Alisson after a good move by side Welington in the 11th minute. At 20, it was Palmeiras that arrived in danger. Raphael Veiga got rid of Pablo Maia and crossed to the area, where Dudu broke the finish, but goalkeeper Jandrei saved it.
A few other opportunities appeared, but the impression that prevailed was that the game would go into halftime with the score unchanged. However, in the 48th minute, the video referee (VAR) called the referee to assess a possible penalty. After analysis on the monitor, the infraction was confirmed and striker Calleri charged well to open the scoring.
In the final stage, São Paulo reached the second in the 18th minute, when Pablo Maia took advantage of the ball touched by Nestor to get strong to overcome goalkeeper Weverton.
Home made, with great pride!#MadeInCotia#VamosSãoPaulo ?? pic.twitter.com/QLyVgRKq9S
— Sao Paulo FC (@SaoPauloFC) March 31, 2022
But Tricolor wanted more, and reached 35. Nikão took a corner, Igor Gomes deflected it and Calleri took the opportunity to expand the marker in the small area. This was the Argentine’s eighth goal in the competition.
⚽️⚽️ Tap him once, twice, as many times as you can!#VamosSãoPaulo ?? pic.twitter.com/WauEEL6iVe
— Sao Paulo FC (@SaoPauloFC) March 31, 2022
At 39, Palmeiras still scored with Raphael Veiga in a free kick goal, but the final victory really went to São Paulo.
With this score, the Morumbi team can keep the title even with a defeat by a goal difference in the return match. Verdão, on the other hand, needs to triumph by an advantage of at least three goals to take the mug in the 90 minutes. In case of victory by Palmeiras by two goals difference, the title will be decided in the penalty shootout.