Analysis: Palmeiras combine solid defence and efficiency to beat Bahia | OneFootball

By Henrique Zaneti

On Sunday night, Palmeiras beat Bahia 2-1 at Arena Fonte Nova in the 10th round of the Brazilian Championship. In the match, the team knew how to manage the risks and, despite having less possession, made the most of its chances to get the result.

Efficiency

For much of the game, Verdão kept a mid-block defensively, preventing the Bahia side from getting close to Carlos Miguel’s goal, and the goalkeeper was rarely tested in the first half. The team relied on transitions, which proved to be a good call by Abel Ferreira after Jhon Arias’ stunning goal, which came precisely from a quick combination between the Colombian and Flaco López.

In the second half, with the score in its favor, Palmeiras dropped deeper and saw Bahia take more control of the match, though that also created more space to attack on the counter. Maurício even scored on a counterattack, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Amid the home team’s crosses, Gustavo Gómez and Murilo stood out in Palmeiras’ defense.

It was from a cross that Bahia’s goal came. In a set play, David Duarte, who stands 1.92 meters tall, took advantage of a lapse in marking to score. After the equalizer, Verdão enjoyed a spell of greater possession and, at that point in the game, deserved to score the winner, which also came from a set piece.

Even though it finished with just 41% possession, Palmeiras had the same number of shots on target as Bahia, with five, which proves the efficiency of the strategy adopted by Abel Ferreira, both in defense, which handled the pressure throughout the match well, and in attack, which took its chance and scored.

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