"You've done a good job, and I'm happy with your performance." Rojas first set the tone in the affirmative.

'In the second half, we could have tried to attack more, but we still had to look at the defence. Gustavo, Leonardo, you can go up and assist, but you have to make sure you can get back in time. ”

"Ricardo, you can be a little bit earlier in the second half, pay attention to the side and pick up our wing."

Ricardinho nodded.

"Ricardo, when Ricardo pulls side, you have to pay attention to the retracement and be prepared. In the second half you have to be bolder with the ball and decide what to do based on your own judgment. ”

Since Kaka's departure, Licardo has become a well-deserved centrepiece, with Rojas even giving him unlimited firing rights, allowing him to shoot at any time and from any position. No one can blame him, even if he shoots.

However, Ricardo still prefers an efficient attack and rarely abuses that right. And he is consciously exercising his ability to organize, attack and assist, preparing for the coming Serie A assistant Ronaldo.

If he had been chasing his own goals, he would have scored more than 30 goals in the Brazilian league by this time, and in fact there were many times when he didn't choose to shoot himself in a great position, instead passing the ball to his team-mates to score.

In the past year, Ricardo has repeatedly carried the team forward with his outstanding performances, and he deserves the position of the core, the top salary, and the tactics tailored for him by Rojas.

The only thing worrying his team-mates is that Ricardo is clearly not going to stay in Sao Paulo for long. After Ricardo is gone, where will São Paulo go?

At least this season, though, they don't have to think about it.

When the São Paulo players walked out of the tunnel, Cruzeiro also came out, and Melo trotted two steps to catch up with Ricardo and greeted him with a smile.

Melo seems to have secured a solid place in the main team this season and has more experience in the game. With his fierce expression, he already had the rudiments of a midfield warrior and formed an effective containment of Ricardinho in the first half.

He is only two centimeters taller than Ricardo, but due to his shaved head, he looks the same height as Ricardo. At the age of 20, he has not yet developed a strong muscle, and his weight is about the same as that of Ricardo.

However, the fame and status of the two are not the same. Although Philip. Melo can become an intercontinental star in the future, but at this time he is still a certain distance from the national level, and he is a little-known junior in Brazil, and there are still many years to go if he wants to be selected for the national team; Ricardo is already a proper continental player, a shining star of the national team, and one of the biggest stars in Brazil.

Ricardo didn't understand why Merlot was greeting him, he didn't have much of a relationship with Melo. Still, he smiled and responded, "Hello." ”

"Ricardo," Merlot looked a little restrained, "do you have time to get together?" ”

Licardo was even more surprised, this guy is too familiar.

However, Melo quickly added: "I just changed agents, and now my agent is also Farah. ”

Only then did Ricardo understand, and nodded with a smile: "Okay, I'll call you to play after a while." ”

Merlot immediately looked delighted. Now that he has made friends with Ricardo, it can really be said that he is "Gao Pan".

After the resumption of the game, Sao Paulo followed the tactics laid out by Rojas, playing steadily and slowly, and Ricardo and Ricardinho used excellent skills to ensure the quality of possession, not pursuing a lethal blow, but first ensuring that the opponent did not break the ball and counterattacked.

Between chance and safety, São Paulo chooses safety first.

But Ricardo can make decisions on his own, and when he wants to take risks, he can also suddenly rely on his own personal abilities to create murderous opportunities.

Cruzeiro has always taken Ricardo very seriously, and when Ricardo retreats, Melo will defend him closely; When he arrives in the number 9 position, Brazil international Chris will be with him. However, in the first half, Ricardo still used excellent movement and exquisite footwork to score the equaliser.

At the start of the second half, Cruzeiro coach Luxenberg asked his players to continue to strengthen the defense of Ricardo, and did not hesitate to use foul tactics when necessary.

Melo had previously seemed to respect and even flattered Ricardo, but on the field, he was ruthless, and Ricardo was frequently kicked down by him, until he was saddled with a yellow card, and only a little more restrained.

Sao Paulo also won a succession of set-piece opportunities, but unfortunately Cruzeiro was very solid in defence from set-pieces, and Sao Paulo could not score.

Rojas crossed his hands in front of his chest on the sidelines, his expression seemed calm, but in fact he suffered a little from gains and losses. Judging from the situation on the field, it seems that Sao Paulo can score goals if they just need to work hard and put a little more into the attack; But he is also worried that what if he really invests more on the offensive end and is attacked by Cruzeiro and counterattacks?

In the midst of his gains and losses, there were waves on the field again.

Cruzeiro attacked, and midfielder Alex found striker Aristiabal with a precise long pass, who unloaded the ball steadily, ran 10 meters with the ball, and then distributed it to the right side and handed it to Maurinho.

Maurin Huo took the ball and went down to the bottom with a gesture to cross, smashed the ball past Julio Santos, who was too fiercely saved, and then crossed. Aristiabal missed a shot in front of him, and the veteran Zinho in the back cut in to shoot hard.

That's when São Paulo's captain Cheney made a contribution, and he made a very stretched side pounce to knock the ball off the line, and it was only then that there was an exclamation from Morumbi's stands.

Alex took the corner, Lugano headed it in and Ricardinho curled it in the direction of Cruzeiro.

This was just a clearance, but a figure wearing a red and black jersey on a white background chased after him at high speed!

"Ricardo! He's very fast! Poking the ball before Melo, he crossed the centre circle and only McCone was left in front of him! The commentator shouted, "Ricardo didn't pass the ball, chose to break through with the ball himself!" McCone turned and chased, he was fast, but Ricardo was faster! When it came to the penalty area, Li Cara got up more than his feet...... Pass! Fabiano goal! He lived up to the chance created by Ricardo and he kept the ball at the back post and smashed the ball into the empty net! Sao Paulo, who is playing at home, leads 2:1! ”

After the goal, Sao Paulo retreated to the defense across the board, leaving only Ricardo alone in the front. Luxenburg made a series of substitutions, but could not change the situation, and in the end, Sao Paulo won all three points at home to chase the gap to just one point.