Palmeiras edge River away after late scare in Copa do Brasil quarters | OneFootball

On Wednesday, Palmeiras gained an advantage in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals by defeating River Plate 2-1 in the first leg. Still in the first half, Gustavo Gómez and Vitor Roque found the net for the Verdão at the Estádio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Quarta pulled one back for the Argentinians in the final stretch.

With this result, Verdão ended River Plate's 12-game unbeaten streak this season and handed their rivals their first defeat in this edition of the continental tournament. Meanwhile, Abel Ferreira’s team maintains their 100% record in the Libertadores.

Upcoming matches for River Plate and Palmeiras

River Plate and Palmeiras will face each other again next Wednesday in the second leg, which will take place at Allianz Parque at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time). The winner will face the victor of LDU vs. São Paulo.

Before that, both teams have domestic league commitments on Saturday. River Plate will play Atlético Tucumán at 9:15 p.m. in the Argentine Championship at the Estádio Monumental José Fierro. Palmeiras will host Fortaleza for the 24th round of the Brasileirão at 9 p.m. at Allianz Parque.

How was the match?

First half

Palmeiras started the match controlling possession, trying to unsettle River Plate. In their first attacking move with more freedom, Flaco López won a corner. From the set piece, Andreas Pereira crossed to Gustavo Gómez, who headed it in and opened the scoring at the Monumental to put Verdão ahead. In the 12th minute, Khellven tried his luck from outside the box on the right, forcing Armani to make a save.

Shortly after, Vitor Roque was fouled near the box and, from the free kick, Andreas Pereira shot directly, aiming for the top corner, but Armani saved. Soon after, in the 19th minute, the number 8 threatened River’s goal again. He took a corner into the box, Lucas Evangelista headed it and hit the post. Then, Andreas received the ball at the edge of the box, tried a shot, but Portillo blocked it.

River’s first shot came in the 27th minute. Paulo Díaz shot from outside the box, sending it over Weverton’s goal. Palmeiras managed the game well and didn’t let the Argentine team grow. In the 40th minute, Verdão struck again in attack and extended the lead. Flaco López received from Andreas and delivered a great pass to Vitor Roque, who finished past Armani to make it 2-0.

Second half

For the second half, River Plate came back trying to press Palmeiras but ran into the well-organized Verdão defense. Early in the half, Acuña took a corner, Driussi headed it, but without much danger. About ten minutes later, Salas also tried, but Weverton made the save. The Argentinians’ most dangerous chance came in the 17th minute with a deflected shot. The Verdão goalkeeper fumbled the save, but Piquerez cleared it away.

In the 29th minute, Acuña received the ball on the left and shot across goal, but it went wide. With the lead, Palmeiras managed the game, held back more, and attacked less. With 35 minutes on the clock, the referee was called by VAR to review a possible penalty by Weverton on Montiel. After review, an offside by River was detected.

River Plate reduced the deficit in the 43rd minute. Martínez Quarta received from Portillo near the edge of the box and struck firmly towards goal. The ball deflected off Emiliano Martínez and ended up in the back of Weverton’s net. The Argentine team tried to mount a late pressure. Borja took a shot, but the ball deflected off Gómez and went out. Despite the scare, Verdão held on for the win and takes the advantage to Allianz Parque.

MATCH SUMMARY RIVER PLATE 1X2 PALMEIRAS

Venue: Estádio Mâs Monumental, Buenos Aires (ARG) Date: September 17, 2025 (Wednesday) Time: 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN) Assistants: Jorge Urrego (VEN) and Tulio Moreno (VEN) VAR: Juan Soto (VEN)

Red cards: None Yellow cards: Díaz, Acuña, Rivero, Montiel (River Plate); Lucas Evangelista, Aníbal Moreno, Weverton, and Facundo Torres (Palmeiras)

Goals: Martínez Quarta, 43′ 2nd half (River Plate); Gustavo Gómez, 5′ 1st half, Vitor Roque, 40′ 1st half (Palmeiras)

RIVER PLATE: Armani; Díaz (Martínez Quarta), Portillo, Rivero; Montiel, Fernández (Lencina), Pérez (Quintero), Castaño, Acuña; Driussi (Colidio) and Salas (Borja). Coach: Marcelo Gallardo

PALMEIRAS: Weverton; Khellven, Gustavo Gómez, Murilo, and Piquerez; Aníbal Moreno (Emiliano Martínez), Lucas Evangelista (Allan), Andreas Pereira (Raphael Veiga), and Felipe Anderson (Bruno Fuchs); Flaco López and Vitor Roque (Facundo Torres). Coach: Abel Ferreira

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