Gómez hails Palmeiras’ form in derbies, shares hopes for Paulista final | OneFootball

Palmeiras defeated São Paulo 2-1 last Sunday night and advanced to their seventh consecutive Campeonato Paulista final. Gustavo Gómez praised Verdão’s performance in derbies this year, which stands at 100%. The Palmeiras defender and captain celebrated the opportunity to play in another final and shared his expectations for the showdown against Novorizontino.

“I think our team is doing well, we’re improving game by game. It’s important for us, for Palmeiras, and for our fans to beat our rivals here in São Paulo. We’re very happy to reach another final, now it’s time to rest and prepare for the first match, which will be tough. I believe that with humility and a lot of hard work, we can achieve important things,” he said.

Gustavo Gómez is one of the most decorated players to wear the Palmeiras jersey. At the club since 2018, the Paraguayan has won 12 titles and played in 15 finals for Palmeiras. He has 391 matches and 45 goals, making him the highest-scoring defender in the club’s history.

“I’m very grateful to be at Palmeiras and to work with all the professionals here. I’m happy, and I think this group of players who have just arrived really deserve to be in a final. Many of them, with a lot of humility and hard work, will try to win their first title. That’s our goal. We have a beautiful history, and this also shows the work of everyone here at Palmeiras and the management. It’s important to have this consistency of always fighting for titles. Now we have to work very seriously and try to win another title to keep writing our story,” he continued.

Best campaigns

The State Championship final will pit the two best campaigns against each other. Novorizontino holds a slight advantage over Palmeiras, finishing the first phase with 16 points, tied with their rival but with a better goal difference. Both teams enter the final defending their unbeaten home records.

“The opponent is very strong and has shown that it’s no coincidence they finished with the best campaign in the group stage. They’re a tough opponent, one that competes a lot, just like us. In the first match, at home, we’ll try to do our best, with the help of our fans, who have been filling Arena Barueri. That’s been a big help too, and I think together we can achieve positive things,” he concluded.

Upcoming Palmeiras matches

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