Ex-Liverpool U23 coach Michael Beale targets Campeonato Paulista final spot for Sao Paulo FC

Sao Paulo FC assistant manager Michael Beale says his side need a "Barcelona like performance" against Corinthians in order to qualify for the final of the 2017 Campeonato Paulista.

Barcelona made it to the quarter-final of the Champions League after defeating Paris Saint-Germain 6-5 on aggregate. They had suffered a 4-0 defeat in the first leg in Paris but overcame that by scoring six goals in the return leg to qualify for the last eight. However, they were later knocked out of the competition by Juventus.

Sao Paulo suffered 2-0 defeats at the hands of Cruzeiro and Corinthians in the first leg of the semi-final clash in Copa de Brasil and Campeonato Paulista, respectively. Though Sao Paulo defeated Cruzeiro 2-1 in the return leg, but were knocked out of the competition on aggregate.

Beale stressed that his side had the "worst week of the season" and despite that, he remains hopeful that Sao Paulo can overcome Corinthians on 23 April and make it to the final of the Campeonato Paulista.

"We may need a Barcelona like performance (against PSG at Camp Nou). It's a real big shame because we were expecting to go through to the final," Beale told IBTimes UK.

"We felt we were in a really good position. We played 22 games and won 11 and drawn seven and lost four. Our record is actually good. We had the worst week of the season at the moment."

"We set ourselves high standard cause we have already outdone last year's team. Last year's team lost in the quarter-final stage and this year we have come to the semi-final. So we have to see the progress made in just three months."

"When we are playing 20 odd games in three months, we are playing every three days. You don't have enough time in between the games to sort of continuously implement your style. We have new players coming in and trying to integrate them in our style. Every three days we have a game."

Beale, who was Liverpool Under-23 manager left the Reds last December in order to become Rogério Ceni's assistant at the Brazilian club. Sao Paulo enjoyed a great run since the start of the season, until their last three fixtures.

Speaking about the long-term policy of the club, Beale stressed that they were targeting success by playing a certain style of football.

"I just think we are in a long-term project to bring Sao Paulo style of football to give the team an identity again so that the fans can be happy with," the Englishman explained.

"While we are doing all these, we are also looking to bring success cause because it is hard to bring success in the short term if you are trying to change things for the long-term at the same time."