James played 57 minutes in Sao Paulo's victory against Cruzeiro - ESPN.

Hace un año

James was a starter in Sao Paulo's victory over Cruzeiro.

The 31st round of Brasileirao served to see James Rodriguez in action with Sao Paulo, the Colombian was a starter in Dorival Junior's team, played 57' minutes and was one of the most outstanding players of Tricolor Paulista, who did not have their best version at Morumbi when they won 1-0 against Cruzeiro.

James was the standout player in Sao Paulo during the first half, in the first few minutes, he was seen sacrificing himself to help in defense, even the midfielder recovered several balls from Cruzeiro players, but the best of his game came before they went to halftime in a first half with few scoring chances.

The '19' showed that classy touch again, first in a spectacular play, he self-enables himself with his back to goal and directing the ball with the outer edge, allowing him to get past a defender, but when another player came instantly to steal the ball from him, James made a three-finger pass to Wellington Rato, who took a powerful shot and made goalkeeper Rafael Cabral shine.

Before going to halftime, James recovered a ball in the middle and started an attack in which he would eventually get the ball back via rebound, the Colombian tried to place the ball low and towards the far post with technique, but just as everyone was about to celebrate, the goalkeeper made an impressive save and deflected it for a corner kick.

In the second half, when 57' minutes had passed, James was substituted and replaced by Luciano, who would score the winning goal for Sao Paulo towards the end of the match. The second half was more back and forth, but the goalkeepers became the main protagonists.

With the victory, Tricolor Paulista reached 42 points, while Cruzeiro remained with 37 points and in a difficult situation close to the relegation zone.