Palmeiras edge derby as first-team players step up | OneFootball

Palmeiras has a 100% success rate in the Campeonato Paulista. With most of the starters beginning to show up, the Alviverde was not brilliant but made efficiency count and won the classic against Santos 1-0 last Wednesday, in the second round of the State Championship. So far, there are two games and two victories, with an important rotation in the squad at the start of the year.

Coach Abel Ferreira opted for many changes in the lineup compared to the Paulista debut. The Portuguese coach brought back most of the starters. The main novelty, however, was the inclusion of a young player from the academy: Riquelme Fillipi. The winger formed an attacking duo with Flaco López. In the first few minutes of the game, Andreas Pereira left the field injured, making way for the youngster Larson.

The match started lively at Arena Barueri, but Palmeiras couldn't pose much threat to the goal defended by Gabriel Brazão. Verdão found it difficult to get the final pass right. The Alviverde team was also struggling defensively, especially with Santos' counterattacks. However, football is football, and the balance of the game rewarded the Alviverde.

At 40 minutes, Palmeiras opened the scoring precisely on a counterattack, a category in which Santos had been more dangerous. Allan recovered in the middle and drove forward, passing to Flaco López in depth. The Argentine entered the penalty area and evaded Brazão, rolling back to find the number 40, who just completed it into the back of the net.

Second half

With the lead, Palmeiras returned without changes in the second half and started pressing Santos – so much so that they almost increased the score within five minutes, with a chance by Flaco López saved by Brazão. Around the 60-minute mark, Abel added more firepower to Verdão and brought on Vitor Roque, leaving the Flaco-Roque duo on the field for the rest of the classic.

The coach also took advantage of the classic to give opportunities to the young academy players. Riquelme Fillipi started, while Larson replaced Andreas Pereira in the opening minutes. In the second half, Luis Pacheco, Erick Belé, and Luighi got their chance. Allan, already more established, also started. The sextet from the Academy did well. Thus, Abel begins to test the youngsters and might have homegrown reinforcements for the rest of the year.

In search of a result, Santos made changes and became more offensive. Palmeiras, on the other hand, managed to contain the Peixe's advances. The Santos team did not pose a threat to Verdão, which had ball possession and seemed to control the result from the 15th minute of the second half. Abel Ferreira's team won almost all physical battles and imposed themselves defensively.

Palmeiras was far from playing their best game – after all, it's only the start of the season, and the starters are still finding their best rhythm. The positive news was the three points, which boost morale for the continuation of the Paulista since it was a classic. Despite this, a possible injury to Andreas Pereira leaves a bittersweet taste, as the team struggles with a lack of options in midfield.

In the end, Palmeiras withstood the final pressure from Santos and won the first classic of 2026 without much suffering. Santos had their chances, but Verdão showed efficiency and, in one of the few chances they had, scored a goal. The Palmeiras team did not play a great match and relied on Carlos Miguel to save two dangerous shots, but they did enough to capitalize on the rival's mistakes and leave the field with three points.

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