Santos beats Portuguesa on penalties and catches Bragantino in the Paulista semi-final – 03/17/2024 – Sport

Santos beat Portuguesa at Vila Belmiro this Sunday (17) and qualified for the semi-finals of the Campeonato Paulista. The teams tied 0-0 in regular time and, on penalties, Santos sealed the victory 4-2.

In the semi-final, the Baixada team faces Red Bull Bragantino, who beat Inter de Limeira 3-0.

In the other semi-final, Novorizontino, who eliminated São Paulo at their opponent’s home, will face Palmeiras. The semifinal disputes should take place on March 27th.

The game this Sunday started with Portuguesa at ease on the field, threatening to score at the beginning of the first half. Santos grew and got close to the goal, as in the attack in the 27th minute by Otero, who hit the ball against the crossbar.

The second half remained balanced until Otero’s expulsion — the Santos player received a red card for stepping on Giovanni Augusto’s foot. Even with one less on the field, the club tried to put pressure on Portuguesa, but the second stage ended without goals.

With the draw in normal time, the decision went to penalties at Vila Belmiro. Santos scored with Giuliano, Guilherme, Rincón and Jair Paula, which guaranteed classification. The Portuguese was wasted on charges from Felipe Marques, defended by João Paulo, and Quintana.

“We prepared a lot during the week, we trained every day for penalty situations, which we knew could happen during the match”, said João Paulo after the match. The goalkeeper has suffered pressure from fans in recent years, criticizing his performance in defending penalties.