Abel lost to Crespo’s São Paulo, but holds a positive record, see stats | OneFootball

Palmeiras and São Paulo will replay the semifinal of the 2025 Paulista Championship this Sunday. The match kicks off at 8:30 PM (Brasília time), at Arena Crefisa Barueri, in Barueri (SP). Three-time Paulista champion, Abel Ferreira has already suffered a runner-up finish in the State Championship to Hernán Crespo, while he was in charge of the same Tricolor, but currently holds a slight advantage over the Argentine.

In the 2025 State Championship semifinal, Palmeiras defeated their rival, who was then coached by Luis Zubeldía, 1-0 and advanced to the final. Raphael Veiga scored the only goal for Palmeiras, from the penalty spot, at Allianz Parque. Later, after their third consecutive title, Verdão finished as runners-up to Corinthians.

The longest-serving coach in Brazilian football, Abel Ferreira has been at Palmeiras since October 2020 and, since then, has faced six different coaches against São Paulo: Fernando Diniz, Rogério Ceni, Dorival Júnior, Thiago Carpini, Luis Zubeldía, and Hernán Crespo. The Argentine is in his second stint at Tricolor.

In the first phase of the Paulista Championship, Palmeiras beat São Paulo 3-1 at the same Arena Barueri that will host the semifinal. The goals for Verdão were scored by Flaco López, Mauricio, and Khellven, while Bobadilla scored for Tricolor.

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A tough start for Abel against Crespo

Despite holding a slight edge in the head-to-head, Abel Ferreira took five games to finally lead Palmeiras to a victory over Hernán Crespo's São Paulo. The first win was a 3-0 result in the second leg of the Libertadores quarterfinals, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Afterwards, in the final, Verdão lifted the trophy by beating Flamengo in Montevideo.

Earlier that same year, Crespo ended a nine-year title drought for Tricolor and won the 2021 Paulista over Palmeiras. On that occasion, the first match ended in a goalless draw and São Paulo won the second 2-0, with goals from Luan and Luciano at Morumbis. Crespo, however, even after the title, did not finish the year in charge of the club, which was then taken over by Rogério Ceni.

The overall record between Abel Ferreira and Hernán Crespo includes three victories for Palmeiras, two for São Paulo, and three draws.

Head-to-head matches between Abel and Crespo:

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