Abel leads Palmeiras past Grêmio Novorizontino, eyes new trophy | OneFootball

In the first leg of the Paulista Championship final, Palmeiras, led by Abel Ferreira, defeated Grêmio Novorizontino 1-0 and heads into the decisive match of the competition with an advantage, which will be played next Sunday, March 8, at 11:30 pm.

Regarding the match, both teams spent some time studying each other in the opening moments and took a while to get into the required rhythm. The alviverde side dominated possession and created dangerous opportunities.

The team of the former Sporting player – who was recently sent off in a Brasileirão match – controlled the game and took the lead shortly after the half-hour mark: in the 34th minute, Sosa played the ball to Flaco López, who scored with a powerful and well-placed shot.

The visiting team felt the impact of conceding the goal and chased the result, pushing their lines higher, and came close to equalizing just before halftime. In one of the last plays of the first half, Vinícius Paiva was brought down inside the box by Gustavo Gómez and the referee awarded a penalty, but Carlos Miguel prevented the goal with a solid save.

In the second half, Palmeiras once again took control of the game with assertiveness and nearly extended their lead. Gustavo Gómez rose above everyone and put the ball in the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Despite their efforts, the score remained unchanged.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.