Palmeiras target Libertadores final, seek to halt LDU streak | OneFootball

Palmeiras is playing its 12th semifinal in the history of the Libertadores and is aiming for its fourth trophy. The team led by coach Abel Ferreira is looking to return to the competition’s final after three years and, to do so, must overcome LDU’s positive streak against Brazilian teams.

Palmeiras and LDU face each other this Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), in the first leg of the semifinal. The match kicks off at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado Stadium, in Quito, Ecuador.

Palmeiras was last a finalist in 2021

Palmeiras last reached the Libertadores final in 2021. On that occasion, they beat Flamengo 2-1 in Montevideo and claimed back-to-back titles, the club’s third Libertadores trophy. In the following years, however, they were eliminated in earlier rounds.

In 2022 and 2023, they fell in the semifinal to Athletico-PR and Boca Juniors, respectively. Finally, in 2024, they were eliminated early, in the round of 16, by Botafogo, who later went on to become champions.

Verdão has played in six Libertadores finals: three titles (1999, 2020, and 2021) and four runners-up finishes (1961, 1968, and 2000).

Palmeiras challenges LDU’s streak against Brazilians

This season, LDU has been a thorn in the side of Brazilian teams. In the group stage, they were in the same group as Flamengo. In Quito, the match ended in a goalless draw, but they lost to the Rio team at Maracanã. Even so, they left Rubro-Negro behind and qualified as leaders of group C.

Next, they claimed two more Brazilian victims: Botafogo in the round of 16, and São Paulo in the quarterfinals. Against Glorioso, they won both matches: 2-0 at home and 1-0 away. The story repeated itself against Tricolor Paulista, and Tiago Nunes’ team also beat their opponents by the same scores, in Quito and at Morumbis.

Palmeiras’ campaign in the Libertadores

Palmeiras has the best campaign in the 2025 Libertadores, with nine wins and one draw. The Brazilian team finished the first stage with a 100% success rate. In the round of 16, they eliminated Universitario-PER, and in the quarterfinals, they got past River Plate-ARG.

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