São Paulo 1×0 Palmeiras; Palmeiras loses the first game of the championship

As predictable, Palmeiras lost the derby against São Paulo last Saturday:

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=-rj0JC5VPkI]

Predictable because, as I said in previews post, Palmeiras always have a hard time playing against São Paulo in the Morumbi, and the game didn’t worth much to Palmeiras as to São Paulo.

And São Paulo showed the importance of the game by scoring in the 3rd minute, with Washington. The play started with a mistake of Palmeiras defender Marcão, which gave São Paulo the possession and they scored.

After the goal, not much happened in the game. Palmeiras couldn’t enter the great defensive system of São Paulo, neither with Marquinhos and Willian or Ortigoza/Lennny and Evandro. Keirrison didn’t received many ball, but lost two good chances – the best one after a shoot of Cleiton Xavier that hit the post, and free of marking, Keirrison was not able to score the rebound.

Luxemburgo Tests

Luxemburgo said he was already testing the team to the game against Sport, for Libertadores, in April 8th. Without Diego Souza, suspended, Fabinho Capixaba, injuried and Pablo Armero, in Colombian national team, the coach chosed a 4-2-3-1 formation:

Marcos;
Sandro Silva, Danilo, Maurício and Marcão;
Pierre and Jumar;
Willians, Cleiton Xavier and Marquinhos;
Keirrison.

Willians and Marquinhos played a poor match, and were substituted; but I think Luxemburgo will think about trying this formation again, maybe more offensively, with C. Xavier in the place of Jumar and Diego Souza as attacking midfielder.

In the second half, the team played in 4-2-2-2, whit two attacking midfielders and two strikers:

Marcos;
Sandro Silva, Danilo, Maurício and Marcão;
Pierre and Jumar;
Cleiton Xavier and Evandro;
Keirrison and Ortigoza.

It’s hard to tell what he thought about this option, since Oritigoza injured only a few minutes after entering in the pitch, and Lenny entered, playing as a center forward, not as a reference in the box.

Palmeiras has two games in the Campeonato Paulista to play before the Libertadores game, and needs to win at least one to guarantee the first place. Luxemburgo may enter the next game today, against Oeste, with the best he can gets, and then enter with the reserves in the game in Sunday, against Botafogo-SP. Then will have the idea of which team he will uses against Sport.