Palmeiras edge Fluminense in tough clash, boosted for Paulista semi | OneFootball

Palmeiras defeated Fluminense on Wednesday night by 2-1 in a match valid for the fourth round of the Brazilian Championship. The hard-fought victory kept the club at the top of the Brasileirão, strengthening Abel Ferreira’s team on the eve of a decisive match in the Campeonato Paulista.

Even while facing a marathon with a decisive derby on Sunday in the State Championship semifinal, Palmeiras took the field against Tricolor das Laranjeiras with their full-strength lineup. The message was clear: Abel Ferreira does not want to waste points at the start of the national tournament and took the risk of fatigue ahead of the derby against São Paulo.

After the match, the coach reinforced his confidence in his strategy and praised the energy of his squad, one of the youngest in Brazilian football. Although he did not rest his starters from the beginning, the coach managed the energy of some of them by substituting them in the second half, such as Flaco López, Vitor Roque, Khellven, Allan, and Andreas Pereira.

Devastating Start by Palmeiras

Palmeiras had a devastating start to the first half and went up 2-0 before the 20-minute mark. Vitor Roque was responsible for opening the scoring in the eighth minute after winning a penalty. Shortly after, Allan made a great individual play down the right and scored a beautiful goal past Fábio.

After building their lead, the Verdão team switched off and started making silly mistakes, such as in passing and marking. In attack, they also struggled and didn’t pose much threat. Fluminense then took advantage and pulled one back in the 20th minute, recovering the ball after a mistake by Flaco López. In defense, Marlon Freitas and Gustavo Gómez got in each other’s way, and Lucho Acosta scored for Tricolor das Laranjeiras.

Fluminense Pressures, Palmeiras Eyes a Third and Holds On for the Win

At the same time, Fluminense came close to equalizing while Palmeiras nearly extended their lead. Carlos Miguel was the standout for Verdão in the second half, making great saves to prevent Tricolor from leveling the score. On the other side, the home team hit the post twice, with Sosa and Vitor Roque.

Palmeiras and Fluminense staged one of the most hotly contested matches of this edition of the Brazilian Championship. In Abel Ferreira’s analysis, it was a match that was “open” the entire time.

Palmeiras’ Situation

With the win, Palmeiras remains unbeaten in the Brasileirão and stays at the top of the competition with ten points. Now, they have one draw and three consecutive wins. Abel Ferreira’s team now turns its attention to the Campeonato Paulista, where they are semifinalists and fighting for a spot in the final against São Paulo on Sunday.

Palmeiras’ Next Match

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