After refereeing blunder, Palmeiras lose but advance in Copa do Brasil | OneFootball

Palmeiras lost 3-2 to Fortaleza at Arena Pantanal, with goals from Flaco López and Murilo, but advanced in the Copa do Brasil because they had won the first leg 3-0 at Nubank Parque. Alviverde is back in the quarterfinals of the national competition after three years.

Refereeing error

Palmeiras went into halftime trailing. Fortaleza were better in the opening half and took the lead in the 34th minute with a long-range strike from Miritello. Carlos Miguel got a hand to the ball but could not prevent the opener in Cuiabá.

Verdão equalized seven minutes later through Flaco López. Felipe Anderson made a brilliant individual play down the right, beat three defenders, and sent in a precise low cross for the Argentine to score his 16th goal of 2026. He is the squad’s top scorer this season.

In the 44th minute, however, Flaco López was brought down by Pierre while trying to start a counterattack, and at the end of the play Rodriguinho scored Fortaleza’s second. Referee Rafael Rodrigo Klein did not call the foul, and VAR official Paulo Renato Moreira da Silva Coelho did not recommend a review. The Palmeiras striker was shoved in the back, but both the on-field officials and the video referee ignored it.

Starters on, equalizer, and late defeat

Coach Abel Ferreira waited ten minutes into the second half to make changes to Palmeiras from midfield forward. Andreas Pereira, Jhon Arias, and Ramón Sosa came on. The equalizer came two minutes later through Murilo. Andreas took a corner from the right, and the captain rose unmarked to head it firmly into João Ricardo’s left corner, with the goalkeeper making a mistake on the play. It was the No. 8’s tenth assist of the year, and he leads the category alongside Flaco López.

In the 43rd minute, Lucas Emanuel rose unmarked after a corner and secured the win for Fortaleza, who now turn their focus to the Brazilian Serie B.

Draw at the CBF

The quarterfinal matchups will be decided by draw next Tuesday (11) at 11 a.m. (Brasília time) at CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. Besides Palmeiras, Santos, Atlético-MG, Cruzeiro, Grêmio, and Vasco have already qualified. This Thursday (6), the other two spots will be decided in the matchups between Corinthians x Internacional and Vitória x Athletico-PR.

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