Palmeiras drop points in dull match, but title dream lives on | OneFootball

By Victória Romanelli

Palmeiras earned only one point in the last three matches, with the last two being against teams fighting at the bottom of the table. This Wednesday, Verdão drew 0-0 with Vitória in an early match for the 37th round of the Brazilian Championship.

Despite losing two points at home, the situation was not as bad as it could have been. That’s because Flamengo lost 2-1 to Fluminense at Maracanã, and so, even with the draw, Palmeiras reduced the gap to the leader to two points. If they had won, however, they could have reclaimed the top spot.

For the match against Vitória, Abel Ferreira had his full squad available. Except for the trio in the Medical Department, everyone else was fit to play. Six called-up players returned “at the last minute” after the FIFA date and all started on the bench.

Lack of Aggressiveness

In a game that lacked collective inspiration, Palmeiras saw Allan stand out individually. The Academy graduate, who had missed the match against Santos, did not shy away from the game and was the one who took the most risks. It was from his feet that perhaps the only good chance of the first half emerged. He made a good individual play, shot across goal, but Bruno Rodrigues couldn’t get there to finish.

Abel Ferreira realized at halftime that the team needed a change in attitude and quickly made substitutions, bringing on Felipe Anderson and Vitor Roque in place of Micael and Bruno Rodrigues. Making the team even more offensive by undoing the three-man defense, Abel saw the performance improve, but not the effectiveness. Additionally, goalkeeper Thiago Couto had a great night and saved everything he could.

Better Second Half, But Not Enough

In the second half, Allan and Raphael Veiga had consecutive chances but were stopped by the goalkeeper. Struggling to break through Vitória’s defense, Palmeiras tried shots from outside the box and threatened with Aníbal Moreno and Felipe Anderson. Allan, with a bicycle kick, and Facundo Torres, with a header, also scared the goalkeeper, who was not beaten.

In addition to Vitor Roque among the called-up players, Gustavo Gómez came off the bench in the second half and started playing up front to try to take advantage of the pressure Palmeiras applied at the end.

“We didn’t create much, but enough to come away with a win. Unfortunately, we weren’t effective enough. Roque also had two headers. I’d like López to have more presence in the box. I can’t have López dropping back to do Andreas’ job. López is there to finish, Gómez, when he came on, and Roque, that’s what I wanted: for them to stay there to be assisted, with crosses, combinations, or low passes,” evaluated Abel.

Standings Situation

With the result, Palmeiras remained in second place, with 69 points, two fewer than Flamengo, who leads with 71.

Palmeiras’ Next Match

Palmeiras vs Fluminense Competition: Brazilian Championship (35th round) Date and time: November 22 (Saturday), at 9:30 pm (Brasília time) Venue: Allianz Parque, in São Paulo (SP)

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