Arias debuts for Palmeiras: wins penalty, praised by Abel in rout

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·23 February 2026

Arias debuts for Palmeiras: wins penalty, praised by Abel in rout

Jhon Arias played his first match wearing the Palmeiras jersey this Saturday (21). The Colombian came on in the second half of the 4-0 victory over Capivariano, in the quarterfinals of the Campeonato Paulista, and needed little time on the field to make a good impression.

Substituted in at the 32nd minute of the final stage, replacing Allan, the attacking midfielder won the penalty that led to the team's third goal. Andreas Pereira converted the penalty at the 44th minute, in stoppage time, extending the alviverde's lead.

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After the match, Abel Ferreira celebrated the arrival of the new signing and highlighted the importance of having more options in the squad. The coach also talked about the possibility of using Arias in different roles in the offensive sector.

– First, I want to thank the president (Leila Pereira) who signed a player of this level, for me, that's the most important thing. I've already said that I don't play with 11 players, but with the 23 we have, plus the support we get from the players we've promoted from the youth team. We currently have 28 players, we always rotate. They went to play in the under-20, it's important for them not only to train with us but to continue growing as young players. I want to have them with me, this headache is for me, having two players of this level is very good. Allan has grown over the last year, but it's always easier when you have high-level players like Gómez, Mauricio, Andreas, Murilo, Marlon, who help with the team's collective dynamics. We need that, to refresh, the players who play on the wings have more frequent substitutions, they are game accelerators, center forwards, wingers... Having these two players makes me very happy – commented the Portuguese coach.

– He is a player who will help us, you saw how he won the penalty. It's a good headache, that's what I want, to have this quality. He can play inside, yes, but we have Mauricio and López himself who can play the interior role. At the moment, I'm counting on them more on the right or left, with Felipe's return, we're well satisfied on the wings, and with Sosa's ability to play upfront, a sharp player, we signed him thinking about the wing, but we saw he can play well upfront in situations like this, where Palmeiras is winning. Good options, I'm grateful to have these players at my disposal – concluded Abel.

Reunion

The tendency is for Arias to compete for a spot in the starting team already on Wednesday (25), when Palmeiras faces Fluminense at 9:30 PM (Brasília time), in the fourth round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. The match marks the player's reunion with the club where he experienced the best moment of his career.

For Fluminense, Arias played in 230 matches since 2021, with 47 goals and 55 assists. In July 2025, after the Club World Cup, he was transferred to Wolverhampton. At the beginning of this year, Palmeiras completed the signing of the Colombian for around R$ 154 million. The Rio de Janeiro club tried to exercise the right of first refusal but did not match the offer and was out of the race.