Palmeiras' historic first half sees off River Plate | OneFootball

Now there are 50 victories for Palmeiras over Argentine teams. The count increased on the night of this Wednesday (17th), when Palmeiras won 2-1 against River Plate at the Monumental de Nuñez, taking the first step towards a spot in the Libertadores semifinals.

The Verdão started the game well, opened the scoring, and could have gone into halftime with a rout, but saw River grow in the second half as they shrank on the field, leaving Argentina with only a one-goal advantage.

In the lineup, Abel Ferreira set up Palmeiras with the same tactical pattern as in recent games but swapped the forward Facundo Torres for midfielder Andreas Pereira. The change, which did not alter the tactical scheme, only swapped the characteristics of the players on the right, providing greater consistency in playmaking.

The newly signed number 8 was one of the best on the field, especially in the first half. Just five minutes in, he crossed perfectly for Gustavo Gómez, another giant, to open the scoring. The Belgian-Brazilian still had a chance to extend the lead at 18 minutes with a free-kick.

Lucas Evangelista hit the post at 20 minutes. But it was at 40 minutes, with the duo Vitor Roque and Flaco Lopez, that Palmeiras scored the second goal. Another ball in the net from the duo, with a clever one-two between the two forwards. Smartly, Flaco set Roque up for the goal.

After a brilliant first half, Palmeiras crumbled in the second part and flirted with failure. River had 15 shots against only one from Verdão in the second half.

With a more crowded midfield, the Argentines held the ball in attack and created opportunities, mainly with long balls and crosses into the area. Palmeiras, with a tired attack, couldn't capitalize on counterattacks. Not even the changes and the entry of the speedy Facundo Torres altered the script.

Goalkeeper Weverton was an exception. Recklessly, he escaped a penalty due to an offside and almost helped the Argentines by failing to catch an easy high ball.

Despite the scares, the opponent's goal came only at 44 minutes, with a shot from defender Martinez Quarta deflected by Martínez. The former Palmeiras player Borja still threatened at 49 minutes with another deflected shot.

And now?

Now, Abel Ferreira's team can even draw in the return match, which will be played next Wednesday (24th) at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) at Allianz Parque, to secure a spot in the semifinals. A loss by one goal difference will take the decision to penalties.

Before the return match, the Palmeiras team faces Fortaleza, in the Brazilian Championship, at Allianz Parque, on Saturday (20th) at 9 PM (Brasília time). Verdão is in third place in the national tournament, with 46 points – Cruzeiro has 47 (with two more games) and Flamengo 50 (with one more game).

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