Palmeiras start Libertadores eyeing more group-stage dominance | OneFootball

Palmeiras make their Libertadores group-stage debut this Wednesday (8) against Junior Barranquilla, aiming to maintain a trend that has become common in recent years: finishing with the best overall record in the competition.

Since 2018, Verdão has topped the overall group-stage standings in six editions (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2025), establishing itself as one of the most dominant teams in the South American tournament during that period.

Looking back at the campaigns

In 2018, under Roger Machado, the team had a solid campaign, collecting 16 points and remaining unbeaten in the group stage. In the knockout rounds, they eliminated Cerro Porteño and Colo-Colo but fell in the semifinal against Boca Juniors.

The following year, now under Luiz Felipe Scolari, they repeated the strong first-phase performance with 15 points, tied with Cruzeiro. After advancing past Godoy Cruz, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Grêmio on the away-goals rule.

In 2020, Palmeiras once again topped the group stage with 16 points. The team began the campaign under Vanderlei Luxemburgo, but it was with Abel Ferreira that they went on to win the title, beating Santos in the final at the Maracanã.

In 2021, even with the second-best overall record (15 points), Verdão won the Libertadores again. On the way to their second title, they eliminated Universidad Católica, São Paulo, and Atlético-MG before defeating Flamengo in the final in Montevideo.

In 2022, Palmeiras had a perfect group-stage run, with six wins in six matches (18 points). Despite the dominant campaign, they were eliminated in the semifinal by Athletico-PR.

Then in 2023, they once again topped the overall standings with 15 points, but were knocked out in the semifinal once more, this time by Boca Juniors.

In the 2024 edition, Palmeiras had a more modest performance. Even though they advanced as group winners, they finished with only the third-best overall record (14 points) and were eliminated in the round of 16 by Botafogo, who went on to become champions.

In 2025, the team once again had a perfect group stage, with 18 points, repeating the feat of 2022. However, they finished as runners-up after losing the final to Flamengo.

Palmeiras’ upcoming matches

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