Palmeiras battle to draw, advance on penalties in Copinha | OneFootball

Palmeiras is through to the third round of the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior. The spot was secured with a 3-2 win on penalties against Vitória, after a 3-3 draw in regular time, on Tuesday night (13th), at Arena Crefisa Barueri, in a match valid for the second round of the traditional youth competition. In regular time, Victor Gabriel (twice) and Juan scored for Palmeiras – Hiago, Gean, and Alejandro scored for the opposition.

In the penalty shootout, Kauã Lira, Victor Gabriel, and Pimenta converted for Palmeiras. Robson and Sorriso missed, but saw the opponents miss three penalties. Aranha saved a shot from Gean, making a foot save on the line, and the referee ruled that the ball had not crossed the goal line. Juan and Kauan Vitor, the latter a former Palmeiras player, hit the post.

Now, the next opponent will be Flamengo-SP, who eliminated Monte Roraima-RR with a 1-0 win on Tuesday afternoon in Guarulhos. The third-round match will be on Thursday (15th), at Arena Barueri. The time will be confirmed later by the FPF.

Palmeiras remains unbeaten in the competition, with three wins and one draw followed by a penalty shootout victory. The team finished the first round with the best overall campaign in the competition, having won all three matches played. In total, they have scored 19 goals and conceded five – the team’s top scorers in the tournament are forwards Eduardo and Sorriso, with four goals each.

Palmeiras U-20 lineup: Aranha; Luis Saboia (Kauã Lira), Pimenta, Luccas Ramon (Rocha (João Paulo)) and André Lucas; Coutinho and Fabio (Juan Gabriel); Eduardo (Antônio Marcos), Felipe Teresa (Robson), Victor Gabriel and Sorriso. Coach: Lucas Andrade.

Scrappy first half

The start was marked by many challenges and little space, but Palmeiras managed to open the scoring in the first few minutes. In the seventh minute, André Lucas delivered a precise cross, and Victor Gabriel headed it in to make it 1-0. The play showed signs of offside, but without VAR, the referee confirmed the goal.

After taking the lead, the São Paulo team began to control possession more, although they didn’t turn that dominance into clear chances. Vitória tried to react in the final minutes of the first half, grew into the game, but also struggled to finish with danger. 1-0 at halftime.

Crazy game

Vitória improved and came back stronger. In the 5th minute, in a dangerous chance, Aranha almost let in a long-range shot. Ten minutes later, Vitória equalized: Hiago leveled the score in Barueri, receiving the ball inside the box on the right wing and blasting it into the net. 1-1.

Verdão woke up after conceding. In the 17th minute, Sorriso forced goalkeeper Ezequiel into a great save. In the next play, Victor Gabriel hit the post. In the 21st minute, after a tight corner kick, Ezequiel punched the ball in the six-yard box, and Vitória’s defense cleared it off the line.

But if you don’t score… you concede! In the 33rd minute, Gean tried his luck from distance, and the ball went into Aranha’s right corner, who was poorly positioned at the time. 2-1. In the next play, it was all square again. Coutinho headed after a corner, and Juan Gabriel, unmarked, equalized in Barueri. 2-2.

But the game continued to take on an air of total madness. In the 38th minute, Aranha made a brilliant save, but couldn’t prevent Vitória’s third goal in the next play. Alejandro put the team ahead, capitalizing on a poor clearance from Palmeiras. 3-2.

Verdão refused to lose. In the 41st minute, Victor Gabriel scored again, taking advantage of a cross from Sorriso. 3-3. The Palmeiras team still had a chance to turn the score around again with Sorriso in stoppage time, but that was it. 3-3 and a penalty shootout.

Hard-fought

In the penalty shootout, Kauã Lira, Victor Gabriel, and Pimenta converted for Palmeiras. Robson and Sorriso missed, but saw the opponents miss three penalties. Aranha saved a shot from Gean, making a foot save on the line, and the referee ruled that the ball had not crossed the line, even though the image suggested it had. Juan and Kauan Vitor, the latter a former Palmeiras player, hit the post.

What now?

Now, the next opponent will be Flamengo-SP, who eliminated Monte Roraima-RR on Tuesday afternoon in Guarulhos. The third-round match will be on Thursday (15th), at Arena Barueri. The time will be confirmed later by the FPF.

The “Crias da Academia” are chasing their third Copinha title. In 2022, Verdão won the tournament for the first time by thrashing Santos 4-0 in the final at Allianz Parque, with goals from Endrick, Giovani, and Gabriel Silva (twice). The following year, they claimed back-to-back titles with a 2-1 win over América-MG in the final at Canindé, with goals from Ruan Ribeiro and Patrick.

See Palmeiras’ upcoming matches in the Copinha:

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