Piquerez criticises Rui Costa’s comments after Palmeiras win at Morumbis | OneFootball

After the 1-0 victory over São Paulo, left-back Joaquín Piquerez, who returned to Palmeiras’ starting lineup after missing the match against Botafogo, criticized the recent statements made by Rui Costa, the Tricolor’s football executive. The director of Roger Machado’s team pointed to a “favoritism” towards Alviverde in recent derbies.

“Normally, I stay out of this. But whenever there’s a match of this level, there are always comments. I heard about what was said, I don’t know if it was the president or Rui Costa, but I don’t think it was the right moment,” said the left-back in an interview with SporTV.

With tensions running high behind the scenes between Palmeiras and São Paulo after Rui Costa’s comments, Piquerez also spoke about the team’s performance on the field. With the win, Verdão achieved its sixth consecutive victory in the derby and extended its unbeaten streak against the rival to 12 matches.

“Things that happen off the field. On the field, it’s 11 against 11. We came to their home, no excuses, and we won,” he concluded.

Remember Rui Costa’s statement

Last Thursday, Rui Costa responded to a statement by Abel Ferreira regarding the controversial derby between Palmeiras and São Paulo in October 2025. The Portuguese coach claimed that refereeing decisions started to go against Verdão after their win in the derby.

“It’s always a very important clash. Specifically this weekend, it’s a match that allows us to keep fighting for points, and in that I agree with the Palmeiras coach. Being the leader now is important, but what matters is being the leader in the 38th round. Our opponent won the last match due to blatant refereeing errors. The fact is, they won. And unfortunately, in these clashes, in different competitions, we have often had errors that, not rarely, favor the opponent,” declared the executive last Thursday.

Rui Costa was answered by Anderson Barros. The Palmeiras director saw an opportunistic stance from the São Paulo executive by talking about the recent period, in which Verdão has the advantage, and condemned the statements that, according to him, could put pressure on the referees on the eve of the match.

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