Red Bull Bragantino came back from a goal down to beat Sao Paulo 2-1, maintaining their top-of-the-table position, remaining the only team not to face a league defeat this season.
In the first half, Rigoni scored for Sao Paulo in the 27th minute before Alerrandro equalized for Bragantino in the 64th minute. Artur’s strike proved to be the crucial one and gave them the victory in the 75th minute.
The result means Sao Paulo have slipped into the relegation zone, one point behind Sport Recife, after nine games.
Sao Paulo and Red Bull Bragantino were evenly matched in the first half. Both teams had very little to play with and very few opportunities to score goals.
In a well-executed attempt from the back, the Tricolor managed to grab the lead. Reinaldo and Benitez exchanged passes in the 26th minute before the full-back found Eder, who delivered a precise cross for Rigoni to head in to make it 1-0.
The best chance for the Bragança Paulista team came when Artur was put in a strong position after a fantastic ball from Claudinho, but Volpi saved his shot.
Sao Paulo began the second half with more Vigor than the first. Benitez had an opportunity to make it 2-0 less than a minute after the interval, but he missed. After that, Reinaldo came close to putting the game to bed, but Cleiton’s spectacular stop foiled his efforts.
Bragantino, on the other hand, took control of the game after some substitutions, allowing them to equalize. Bragantino were granted a freekick after Liziero committed a needless foul near the penalty area. Alerrandro was able to connect with Claudinho’s cross with a header to make it 1-1.
After the goal, Tricolor sought to turn the game back in their favor with an outside-of-the-box effort from Benitez, but it was Bragantino who completed the comeback. In the 75th minute, Artur got past Rodrigo Nestor and scored a fantastic goal to make it 2-1. Sao Paulo then attempted, but failed, to gain anything out of the game.
For their next outing, Sao Paulo will be looking for their first win in seven games as they face Inter in Beira-Rio on Wednesday night while Massa Bruta will face Cuiabá at the Nabi Abi Chedid stadium in Bragança Paulista.
