Palmeiras struggle in Copinha opener, fall short of expectations | OneFootball

Palmeiras debuted with a 4-2 victory over Monte Roraima this Monday (5th), at Arena Barueri, in the first round of the São Paulo Junior Football Cup. Severely depleted, the team felt the weight of missing key starters who did not take the field because they are training with the professional squad.

Without defender Benedetti, midfielder Larson, and forwards Erick Belé and Riquelme, the team lost part of its backbone—the quartet is registered for the Copinha, but is with the main team at the start of the season. In addition, forward Luighi and midfielder Luis Pacheco are not even on the list, as they are also with the senior team. Right-back Gilberto, meanwhile, was transferred to Athletico-PR just days before the debut and became unavailable.

Naturally, the team felt it. With a starting lineup that had never played together, passing errors were frequent, especially in the first half. Despite opening the scoring just three minutes in, with Saboia, the scenario that suggested Palmeiras dominance quickly turned unstable. Monte Roraima surprised soon after, in the ninth minute, when Thiago took advantage of a free kick and equalized with a header, leaving the match wide open.

With greater possession and offensive volume, Palmeiras began to press, but was stopped by nerves. On the other side, Monte Roraima nearly took the lead with a clear chance from Juan, who dribbled past goalkeeper Aranha but shot wide.

Even considering the absences and the lack of team chemistry, it was very little for a team of Palmeiras’ size and quality. Despite the difficulties, they made their physical and tactical superiority count, intensified the pressure in the second half, and regained the lead in the 56th minute. In the 63rd minute, Palmeiras extended their lead with Victor Gabriel, who rose unmarked to head in after a precise cross from Arthur.

There was still time for another twist. In the 74th minute, the opposing team pulled one back with a free kick goal, but in the very next play Arthur restored Palmeiras’ two-goal advantage, in a goal marred by a refereeing error. The left-back shot from distance, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced outside the goal, but was awarded by the officials. A grotesque mistake. 4-2 final score.

What now?

With the result, Palmeiras takes the lead in Group 27 with three points, alongside Remo, who also has three after beating Batalhão-TO 2-0, but leads on goals scored.

Now, Verdão returns to the field next Thursday (8th) against Batalhão-TO, at 7:30 pm (Brasília time) at Arena Barueri for the second round of the first phase of the São Paulo Junior Football Cup.

The Crias da Academia are in search of their third Copinha title. In 2022, Verdão won the tournament for the first time by thrashing Santos 4-0 in the final at Allianz Parque, with goals from Endrick, Giovani, and Gabriel Silva (twice). The following year, they won their second title with a 2-1 victory over América-MG in the final at Canindé, with goals from Ruan Ribeiro and Patrick.

See Palmeiras’ upcoming matches in the Copinha:

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