Palmeiras stumble again and lose top spot in the Brazilian league | OneFootball

Palmeiras drew 0-0 with Botafogo at Nilton Santos and lost the lead in the Brazilian Championship to Flamengo, who beat Remo 1-0 at Mangueirão. The Rio side now has 54 points to Verdão’s 53.

Early pressure

Palmeiras struggled in the opening minutes to break free from Botafogo’s pressure. Marlon Freitas, heavily booed by the home crowd, and Andreas made several mistakes while playing out from the back, and the hosts nearly scored through Montoro just four minutes in. Carlos Miguel came up big.

Verdão in control

From the 20-minute mark on, Palmeiras took control of the match and started creating chances. Lucas Evangelista had three opportunities but wasted them. The key moment of the first half came in the 25th minute.

Where was VAR?

Mauricio played a pass to Andreas Pereira at the edge of the box, and the No. 8 was brought down by Marçal in a clear goalscoring opportunity. Referee Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima showed only a yellow card, and Gilberto Rodrigues Castro Junior, on VAR, did not call for a review.

So close

Palmeiras’ best chance came 12 minutes into the second half. Piquerez crossed from the left, Mauricio rose unmarked in the six-yard box and powered a header that was saved by Gabriel Batista.

Change up front

Abel Ferreira made his first changes 18 minutes into the second half. Jhon Arias, back from a muscle injury, and Vitor Roque came on for Lucas Evangelista and Mauricio, respectively. The Colombian moved to the left wing, while the No. 9 partnered Flaco López up front.

Upcoming matches

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