Analysis: Vitor Roque earns Brazil call-up and keeps shining at Palmeiras | OneFootball

The good moment of Palmeiras this season and the victory in the derby against Santos at Allianz Parque are largely thanks to one player: striker Vitor Roque. Scorer of both goals for Verdão this Thursday (6), the forward has been growing more and more in this final and decisive stretch of 2025.

After the Club World Cup in July, and especially following the elimination to Corinthians in the Copa do Brasil in August, Vitor Roque took on the responsibility and has become the main figure at Palmeiras. He has scored 15 goals in 20 matches wearing the number 9 since then, in addition to five assists—an average of one goal involvement per game.

The numbers show his importance and how Vitor Roque is a fundamental piece in a team that is increasingly taking on his identity: fierce and technically refined.

More than just individual talent, the player benefits from his partnership with Flaco López, who provided an assist this Thursday for Vitor’s first goal—and who helps his teammate regain the confidence from his Athletico-PR days, perhaps living his best professional phase. Since the elimination against Corinthians, Flaco has 11 goals and three assists in 19 matches.

Tactically, Roque and Flaco López shorten the passes in attack and, this Thursday, once again showed why the duo—who have been compared in memes to Bebeto and Romário since the rout over Universitario—are one of the best things to happen to Palmeiras in 2025.

It’s no wonder that, together, they have become national team players. Vitor Roque returned to the Brazilian National Team after more than two years and will play in the November FIFA window next week, while Flaco is experiencing his third consecutive call-up—September, October, and November.

To squeeze Santos

From the start, with intensity and with the play flowing through Vitor Roque and Flaco López, Palmeiras pushed Santos back and only didn’t score because Brazão had a brilliant night and, when he couldn’t do anything, Zé Ivaldo appeared to clear Flaco’s shot off the goal line.

Palmeiras had over 20 shots in the match and was rewarded in the second half. In the 21st minute, Vitor Roque finally beat Brazão, with a beautiful pass from Flaco López. In the 34th minute, the number 9 reappeared to seal the victory with a stunning goal: he chipped the keeper after a long ball from Raphael Veiga and left the field minutes later to a standing ovation.

What now?

Verdão’s victory left Abel Ferreira’s team with 68 points, against Flamengo’s 65 and Cruzeiro’s 63 (with one more game played). The team returns to the field on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time), against Mirassol, who are in fourth place with 56 points, away from home.

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