The first top of the table clash in the 2011 Serie A has gone the way of Sao Paulo who edged Atletico Mineiro in Belo Horizonte tonight in the midweek catchup game.
Despite being out-shot by their hosts, the Sao Paulo club held on to an early Casemiro goal to take all three points and remain perfect with three wins out of three. They leapfrog their opponents, and fellow Paulista duo Corinthians and Palmeiras, to top the table. With nine points they are now two clear of Corinthians who are in second place.
The game was intense and largely dominated by the home team, Atletico, who themselves were holding on to their perfect record of two wins from two matches.
Sao Paulo started their strongest team with both Brazil U20 players Casemiro and Lucas in the lineup. Lucas was paired with Dagoberto up front while Wellington joined Casemiro in midfield. Captain Rogerio Ceni was in goal and pulled off another imperious performance with eight saves and 13 corners defended for a solid clean sheet.
Mineiro's midfielder Richarlyson was at the center of everything his side created and will particularly feel a sense of frustration. He launched 6 shots goal wards and saw 4 of them stopped by Ceni. His counterpart Giovanni was also in the thick of things drawing plenty of fouls from his opponents as he looked to dovetail with Richarlyson and help link up with Magno Alves up front.
A bizarre start saw both Dudu Cearense and Amantino Mancini. who were in the starting lineup, withdrawn immediately. Although the Minas Gerais club dominated shots, possession and positioning, they were unable to break Sao Paulo down who capitalized on an early strike and held on.
So now, three Paulista clubs are 1-2-3 in the standings and Sao Paulo will look to put on as much daylight as they can between themselves and Santos who, it looks like, will be their main challengers.
Atletico can consider themselves unlucky but will definitely be in the mix for the automatic Libertadores spots come season's end. However this home defeat can only have hurt their morale. They had 17 shots to Sao Paulo's six.
Excellent win for Sao Paulo, damaging defeat for Atletico Mineiro.
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