Abel faces selection dilemma as Palmeiras take on Cruzeiro

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Nosso Palestra

·25 October 2025

Abel faces selection dilemma as Palmeiras take on Cruzeiro

The coach Abel Ferreira faces a real dilemma in deciding the lineup for Palmeiras against Cruzeiro this weekend in the Brazilian Championship. The team is coming from turbulent times — after the defeat to Flamengo, which put their leadership in the championship at risk, and the elimination by LDU in the Libertadores, the atmosphere at Verdão is one of apprehension and pressure.

The defeat in the continental tournament exposed weaknesses in the team's tactical system, and Abel is considering changes in the formation. The main doubt is whether to rest some players to aim for a comeback on Thursday or to go with the main team and go all out in both competitions.

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Explained Change

The Palmeiras fans finally thought that Abel Ferreira had found the ideal team for the rest of the season, but the coach made three changes for the decisive match against LDU in Quito, in the first leg of the Libertadores semifinal.

In the match against Flamengo last Sunday (19), the team took the field with the following lineup: Carlos Miguel; Khellven, Gómez, Fuchs, and Piquerez; Aníbal Moreno, Andreas Pereira, Felipe Anderson, and Maurício; Vitor Roque and Flaco.

In the match against the Ecuadorians this Thursday (23), the Portuguese coach placed Murilo instead of Bruno Fuchs, Emiliano Martínez instead of Aníbal Moreno, and Raphael Veiga in Maurício's spot.

In the press conference after Palmeiras' defeat, the coach explained what motivated the changes in the team that had performed well against Flamengo at Maracanã.

We did not compete at all. Aníbal is injured — he's on the bench, but he's injured. I couldn't use him today. Veiga's mission was to block number 33. Emiliano's mission was to follow the player who scored two goals, and Murilo's, since it was a more physical game, was to use that ability. Our opponent had three players in midfield, and we wanted to press in the midfield line. In my opinion, there's one thing I warned them about — they compete a lot and are very strong at home. In the first half, we were neither aggressive nor intense.

And Now?

With the result, Verdão needs to win by four goals in the return match at Allianz Parque to qualify for the final. A victory by three goals takes the decision to penalties. The second leg takes place next Thursday (30) at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) at Allianz Parque.

Before that, Verdão takes the field on Sunday (26) at 8:30 PM (Brasília time) to face Cruzeiro in the Brazilian Championship. The Palestra team is the leader of the national competition.

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