Abel Ferreira on Mauricio flashpoint and Palmeiras reds: ‘No doubt’

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Nosso Palestra

·30 July 2026

Abel Ferreira on Mauricio flashpoint and Palmeiras reds: ‘No doubt’

Palmeiras thrashed Vitória 4-0 at Barradão and opened an eight-point lead over Flamengo, who drew 1-1 with Internacional, at the top of the Brazilian Championship. The goals were scored by Mauricio, Fabiano (own goal), Jhon Arias, and Ramón Sosa from a free kick.

After the match, coach Abel Ferreira spoke to the press in a shortened press conference because Verdão will return to the city of São Paulo in the next few hours.

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Abel speaks!

Coach Abel Ferreira assessed the controversial moments in Palmeiras’ win over Vitória, commented on the sendings-off for the Bahia side, highlighted Verdão’s performance, and reinforced his confidence in the work being done at the club. The manager also spoke about competing simultaneously in three tournaments, the squad’s future, and the appreciation of the players.

On the team’s performance, Abel stressed the importance of the result achieved away from home.

We knew it would be difficult for exactly that reason. We started the game very well, and the opponent even changed their style of play a little because of the pitch, which was better than we expected. Even at 11 against 11, we had two great chances, one with Allan and another with Mauricio. After they went down to two fewer players, it’s already hard to play against Palmeiras with eleven, imagine with nine. I asked the players for a lot of emotional control because it was a tense game. They maintained that balance and we won well.

Abel also spoke about the need to reinvent himself to keep Palmeiras competitive season after season.

No one demands more from me than I do myself. The secret to consistency is not just reinventing the squad, but reinventing myself. We’re not going to win every time. When I arrived here, nobody knew who I was, and today expectations are enormous. I have always strongly believed in what I do. Before arriving at Palmeiras, I needed a club that would give me the conditions to compete all the time, with responsibility and well-defined processes. Even when we lose, the pressure is there. That pressure makes us better. We have never doubted what we do. The word that defines all of this is consistency.

When commenting on the incidents that led to complaints from Vitória, including statements from the Bahia club’s president, the coach considered the play involving Mauricio open to interpretation, but was emphatic about the sendings-off.

Can we talk about all the incidents? The first one, to me, is a play right on the edge. You may disagree. I think half of the people would say yes and the other half would say no. It’s on the edge. Now, the second sending-off... are there any doubts? For me, there are no doubts. Did you see his leg? The referee followed the rules. That’s my opinion. Do you know Luan Cândido’s history? You should. The gesture is clear and he had the courage to apply the rule. As for Mauricio’s play, to me, it’s 50-50. The referee and VAR went with a yellow card. In the other decisions, I don’t see any doubts.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Abel made it clear that Palmeiras remain focused on competing for every title.

Palmeiras enters every competition to win. We were coming off a tough defeat in which we were not effective defensively. It wasn’t just a matter of finishing more; we should have scored more goals. In my opinion, we played a good match in that game and today we started the same way. Now we’ll assess, together with NSP, the physical demands of today’s game. We’re alive in every competition and we want to fight for all of them.

Finally, the coach commented on interest from foreign clubs in players such as Flaco López and Allan and said Palmeiras do not intend to negotiate players considered fundamental.

When I arrived, I said my role was to add value to football, Palmeiras, and the players. Since then, the club has already made more than R$2 billion in sales. You need to take risks and back the players. I could mention Endrick, Vitor Reis, and Estêvão. It’s normal for extremely high offers to come in for our players, but today we have the strength to say no. I do not expect to lose important and fundamental players at this moment. We are still competing in three tournaments. A peripheral sale may happen, but I’m not counting on the departure of key pieces. Now, if someone pays the release clause, there is no way to stop it. I echo the words of president Leila Pereira.

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