They took three points and left without dominating
Durante sete partidas como visitante no Brasileirão 2022, o São Paulo acumulou apenas empates e derrotas — um padrão que parecia resistir a qualquer correção. Em Goiânia, na tarde de domingo, algo se rompeu: com dois gols de Luciano e ajustes táticos precisos de Rogério Ceni no intervalo, o clube venceu o Atlético-GO por 2 a 1 e conquistou, enfim, sua primeira vitória fora de casa na temporada. Mais do que três pontos, o resultado sugere que um time pode aprender, mesmo tarde, a disciplina que o estrada exige.
- Sete jogos sem vencer fora de casa haviam transformado as viagens do São Paulo em rituais de frustração — cinco empates e duas derrotas que pesavam sobre cada partida longe do Morumbi.
- Luciano abriu o placar no primeiro tempo, mas a alegria durou menos de um minuto: Diego Costa cometeu pênalti, Marlon Freitas empatou, e o fantasma das viradas desperdiçadas voltou a rondar o time.
- No intervalo, Ceni agiu com precisão cirúrgica, repetindo a formação que havia funcionado na Copa Sul-Americana dias antes — e o São Paulo que voltou para o segundo tempo era outro, mais compacto e controlado.
- Jandrei não defendeu um único chute na etapa final, enquanto Luciano aproveitou falha da defesa goiana para marcar o gol da vitória — eficiência onde antes havia desperdício.
- Com menos posse de bola e menos finalizações que o adversário, o São Paulo provou que vencer fora de casa não exige domínio, mas sim controle — e, por um domingo em julho, a maldição foi quebrada.
O São Paulo chegou a Goiânia carregando o peso de uma temporada inteira sem vitórias como visitante. Em sete partidas fora de casa no Brasileirão 2022, o clube havia somado apenas empates e derrotas. Contra o Atlético-GO, algo finalmente mudou.
Luciano abriu o placar na cobrança de pênalti aos 24 minutos, mas a vantagem durou apenas um minuto: Diego Costa cometeu falta na área, e Marlon Freitas converteu o pênalti para empatar. Era um padrão dolorosamente familiar — o São Paulo havia saído na frente em dez partidas na temporada, mais do que qualquer outro time, mas vencera apenas três delas.
Rogério Ceni fez ajustes cirúrgicos no intervalo, repetindo a formação que havia funcionado na vitória sobre a Universidad Católica pela Copa Sul-Americana quatro dias antes. O segundo tempo foi outro jogo: a equipe voltou mais compacta e disciplinada. O goleiro Jandrei, que havia defendido três chutes no primeiro tempo, não foi exigido nenhuma vez na etapa final — um dado que revelava onde o controle da partida havia se instalado.
Luciano voltou a marcar aos 17 minutos do segundo tempo, aproveitando falha da defesa goiana para selar o 2 a 1. O São Paulo terminou a partida com menos posse de bola e menos finalizações que o adversário, mas não desperdiçou o que criou e não cedeu espaços quando precisava segurar o resultado.
Para um time que havia se tornado sinônimo de fracasso fora de casa, a vitória significava mais do que três pontos. Sugeria que Ceni havia ensinado sua equipe a vencer longe de casa não pelo domínio, mas pelo controle — e que a maldição, ao menos por um domingo em julho, havia sido quebrada.
São Paulo arrived in Goiânia on Sunday carrying the weight of a season-long curse. In seven away matches through the 2022 Brasileirão, the club had managed only draws and defeats—five stalemates and two losses. The road had been a graveyard of missed opportunities and defensive lapses. Against Atlético-GO, something finally shifted.
Luciano opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 24th minute, a moment that should have settled the nerves. Instead, the very next minute brought a jolt of anxiety: Diego Costa committed a foul in the box, and Marlon Freitas converted the resulting penalty to level the match. It was a pattern São Paulo knew too well. The club had led in ten matches across the season—more than any other team in the league—yet won only three of the nine previous games in which they'd taken the lead. Going ahead meant nothing if you couldn't hold it.
Rogério Ceni made his adjustments at halftime, a calculated reshuffling that would prove decisive. Reinaldo and Gabriel Neves replaced Welington and Patrick, restoring the same formation that had worked in the Copa Sudamericana victory over Universidad Católica four days earlier. The first half had been tense and undisciplined—four yellow cards accumulated in those opening 45 minutes—but the second half belonged entirely to São Paulo.
The team that returned from the break was tighter, more purposeful. The defensive structure held firm. Goalkeeper Jandrei faced three shots in the first half but none in the second, a telling statistic about where the pressure had shifted. Luciano struck again in the 17th minute of the second half, capitalizing on a lapse in the Atlético-GO defense with a well-placed finish in the box. The 2-1 scoreline held.
By the numbers, São Paulo had not dominated. They possessed the ball less than their opponents—48 percent to 52 percent—and created fewer chances, eight shots to eleven. But efficiency is its own form of mastery. They did not squander what they created. They did not collapse defensively as they had in previous away matches. They did not allow their opponent to build momentum. They took three points and left.
For a team that had become synonymous with road-game failure, the victory represented something more than a single win. It suggested that Ceni's team had finally learned the discipline required to win away from home—not through dominance, but through control, through not making mistakes, through taking what the opposition gives you and nothing more. The curse, at least for one Sunday in July, had been broken.
Citações Notáveis
The team that returned from the break was tighter, more purposeful, with the defensive structure holding firm throughout the second half— Match analysis
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did São Paulo struggle so badly away from home before this match?
They had the lead in ten matches this season but won only three of them. It wasn't about creating chances—it was about not knowing how to protect what they had. They'd concede immediately after scoring, or lose focus defensively.
What changed against Atlético-GO?
Rogério Ceni made two substitutions at halftime that tightened the whole structure. Reinaldo and Gabriel Neves came in, and suddenly the team stopped leaking goals. The goalkeeper didn't face a single shot in the second half.
But the statistics show São Paulo had less possession and fewer shots.
Exactly. That's the point. They stopped trying to dominate and started trying to be efficient. They took what they got and didn't waste it. That's a different kind of maturity.
Is this one win enough to say the away curse is broken?
One match never proves anything in football. But it proves they can do it—that they understand what it takes. That's the first step.
Luciano scored twice. How important was that?
He was clinical. But more important was that the team didn't panic when Marlon Freitas equalized immediately after Luciano's first goal. They stayed composed and found the second goal. That composure is what was missing before.