Grêmio beat São Paulo 2:1 in the Brazilian Serie A on Friday evening. The result came in the 22nd round of the regular season at the Arena do Grêmio. Both sides had been searching for consistency, and this was a match decided by moments rather than flow.
Grêmio took the lead just before half-time when Marcos Antonio struck in the 47th minute. Wallace added a second shortly after the restart in the 48th. São Paulo pulled one back through C. Pavon in the 86th, but there was time for little more.
The match saw plenty of interruptions. There were seven yellow cards in total, with Grêmio collecting four and São Paulo three. Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with both managers looking for answers. J. Cabral, J. Nardoni, Danielzinho, Ferreira, Jonathan Calleri, Carlos Vinicius, Pablo Maia and M. Villasanti all entered the field.
Grêmio had 48 per cent possession and took 13 shots, five on target. São Paulo controlled 52 per cent and also registered five shots on target from 13 attempts. Both sides created more chances than the scoreline suggested, with São Paulo producing five big chances against Grêmio's three.
Grêmio sit 15th with 28 points from 25 games, while São Paulo occupy 10th place on 33 points. The hosts had won their last league game 1:0 against Mirassol, and São Paulo's previous outing was a 1:1 draw with Flamengo. This result keeps Grêmio within touching distance of the escape zone.