Robinho! The São Paulo Slayer!

By: Socratinho | February 7th, 2010

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What a game! What a goal! Robinho gives us the win in the San-São derby with a piece of magic. A 2×1 win, exactly as I predicted.

Now to the game. The predicted starting XI was spot on. We played a 4-2-2-2:

Felipe
Wesley–Edu Dracena–Durval–Léo
Rodrigo Mancha–Arouca
Marquinhos–PH Ganso
Neymar–André

In short we dominated the first half. São Paulo had their chances as the game ebbed back and forth. Overall we had most of the possession though. Our passing at times was too much for São Paulo as they chased the ball around the field. A significant moment was when André missed an easy header after a great cross by Léo. The breakthrough came on 38 minutes when Arouca was taken down by Miranda in the area. To be honest he did go down easily but there was contact. Neymar dispatched the penalty with aplomb. That was 1×0.

In the second half São Paulo asserted themselves more especially after they switched to a 4-4-2 (they were playing 3-5-2 before). That coupled with Gomes putting Jean on Ganso meant they had the upper hand for most of the half.

The equalizer came from a cross into the box. Roger out-jumped Wesley and headed it past Felipe. One could say Felipe should have come for the ball, but that would be a bit harsh. I won’t be too hard on Wesley either. He isn’t a defender – much less a right-back – and this was the only high-profile mistake he made in the match.

The teams continued to slug it out as the game reached it’s end. Robinho entered to replace André who had a poor game. The roar was thundering as the King of Step Overs entered onto the stage. He looked a bit lost and his initial tricks didn’t create much. He had to play as the point man which made it even harder for him to impose himself on the game.

At this point with less than five minutes left in normal time I was feeling quite content with a draw. Then the magical moment arrived.

Receiving a pass from midfield, Wesley went on to tear down the right flank before coming inside to deliver a pinpoint pass to Robinho. All alone two yards from goal but with Ceni closing in from one side, defenders from the other, and the ball not yet at his feet, Robinho made a split second decision. He back-heeled the ball past Ceni for the winner. Cue the crowd going wild, the badge kissing from Robinho, and the hysterical celebrations at my computer chair. See the goal here.

All that was left after that was to keep the ball and collect the win. That was done without much fuss.

So the first goal for Robinho on his return and a win over a huge rival. The win propels us to the top of the table two points over Corinthians. The team played extremely well today even with all the injuries. The defending on a whole is a great improvement over last season. We still lack bite up front-especially with André not playing well. Also, the way São Paulo took the reins in the second half was a little worrying. I can’t complain though.

That’s the first big scalp for the season. The next game is against Rio Claro on Saturday. Another win should be on the cards. To digress for a moment, Zezinho is being presented tomorrow. Good news all around.

Later.