By Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL – Bahia eliminated São Paulo in round 16 of the Brazil Cup. After winning 1-0 at Morumbi last week, the team repeated the score at Arena Fonte Nova on Wednesday night. The goalscorer was center-back Ernando, eight minutes into the second half.
It was São Paulo’s 22nd knockout loss since its last title, the South American Cup in 2012. With elimination, the “tricolor” team will now only compete in the Brasileirão championship for the rest of the season.
The team is in fourth place, with 11 points, and hosts Cruzeiro on Sunday in Pacaembu.
Meanwhile, Bahia is waiting for the draw to find out whom it will face in the quarterfinals of the Brazil Cup. In the Brasileirão, the team is in eighth place, with ten points, and hosts Grêmio on Saturday.
In Wednesday’s duel, São Paulo needed to score at least one goal to qualify, and manager Cuca changed the attack. The changes, however, were not effective.
In Bahia, Roger Machado once again bet on a team setup with three central midfielders and three strikers who were quick to counterattack.
The strategy worked: in the eighth minute of the second half, Ernando, one of Bahia’s defenders, scored the goal.
São Paulo was tired out in the final minutes and has now gone four games without scoring a single goal, its greatest failure of the season.
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