Abel: Palmeiras’ deserved derby win, rues key absences | OneFootball

Coach Abel Ferreira believes that Palmeiras' victory over Santos on Thursday night was “entirely fair.” Verdão defeated Peixe 2-0 at Allianz Parque in the 32nd round of the Brazilian Championship, gaining an important lead over Flamengo at the top. According to the coach, the team lacked effectiveness in the first half but demonstrated superiority in the second half.

“I think the first and second halves were very similar. The difference is that in the second half we were effective and converted chances into goals. In the first half, we had two situations from our opponent's transitions where we made more approaches, failing to follow movements in marking, and this could have cost us. In the first half, we failed in not finishing and allowing transitions to our opponent,” evaluated Abel.

“At halftime, I told the players that we had to maintain the rhythm, made small positioning corrections, and the team performed very well, both those who started and those who came on later. A team always keeping the energy in the game, always seeking the goal. I think it’s an entirely fair victory for what we did in the 90 minutes,” he continued.

Palmeiras created several opportunities throughout the match but only managed to open the scoring at 21 minutes into the second half with Vitor Roque. Then, at 34 minutes, the striker found the net again, sealing the victory for the green-and-white team at Allianz Parque.

Abel regrets call-ups at a decisive moment

A key figure in Thursday’s classic, Vitor Roque will not be available for the next classic against Santos, scheduled for November 15. The ‘Tigrinho’ was called up by coach Carlo Ancelotti to play for the Brazilian National Team in friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia, scheduled for the 15th and 18th of this month.

On Thursday, Flaco López was called up to play for the Argentine national team in a friendly against Angola on the 14th and is also expected to miss Verdão against Santos. Abel mentioned a statement by Ancelotti about prioritizing the National Team, but lamented that these call-ups came at a decisive moment in the season.

“This victory only makes sense because we won against Juventude, managed a draw against Cruzeiro in a difficult moment, I can’t look at this classic and give more importance to these three points than against Juventude. It’s a competitive championship, I think we will still lose points until the end. There are a series of abnormal circumstances that shouldn’t exist. Ancelotti said it well, the priority is the National Team, as I understand it, but it doesn’t seem fair or correct at this time for us to lose players for friendlies. There’s no side to it,” said the coach.

“There’s a lot to change, many difficult decisions to be made. This can’t happen. Do we need to adjust the calendar to match the European calendar? I don’t know. It’s not fair for us or for others. But fine, we have to play with what’s happening, but I think, honestly, it should be something for deep reflection. It’s even a bit embarrassing when I’m asked what’s happening when we’re left without players for the national teams at such a crucial final stretch. Something is wrong here. I don’t know if it’s our management, the CBF, the coaches, but I think it’s not right. This doesn’t exist,” he added.

Despite the complaint, the Palmeiras coach emphasized that the club respects all decisions and does not plan any movement to ask the national teams to release the called-up players.

“Palmeiras doesn’t do that, it’s not a club that does that. Palmeiras greatly respects what the national team is for everyone. Everyone. What authority do I or Palmeiras have to ask national coaches to release their players? If this exists, it must be said that it’s the clubs that do this,” concluded Abel.

Standings situation

With the result, Palmeiras not only remained at the top of the Brasileirão but also opened a three-point lead over Flamengo, the competition’s runner-up. Verdão reached 68 points, while the team from Rio has 65. The green-and-white team also achieved its third consecutive victory across all competitions.

Upcoming Palmeiras matches

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