Abel's assistant rues lapse for Grêmio goal, praises Palmeiras after win | OneFootball

Palmeiras defeated Grêmio on Thursday night 2-1, with two goals from Marlon Freitas, in a match valid for the ninth round of the Brazilian Championship. Vitor Castanheira, one of Abel Ferreira’s assistants, was asked about Marlon Freitas’ standout performance, praised the midfielder, but preferred to highlight the collective effort and also commented on the goal conceded.

“I don’t really like to single out individuals. We have to value the team’s effort. Marlon is an important player, mature and experienced. He knows this league very well and has brought quality to the team, which is why Palmeiras went after him,” he said.

Marlon Freitas opened the scoring for Palmeiras in the 43rd minute of the first half at Arena Barueri. He took advantage of Andreas Pereira’s corner kick and headed the ball into the back of the net past former Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton. Grêmio, meanwhile, equalized eight minutes into the second half.

Vitor Castanheira saw a “lack of focus” from the entire team in the play that led to Grêmio’s goal. Shortly before Carlos Vinícius found the net, Palmeiras players complained about a handball call involving Mauricio.

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Verdão also complained about the free kick, which, according to Marlon Freitas as he left the pitch, had been taken while the ball was still moving.

“As for the goal, it ended up being a lapse on our part. But we were prepared for this more direct kind of game. He is an extremely strong player, able to hold the ball up, and he has experience in English football, which is very physical and involves a lot of contact. Unfortunately, a general lapse by the team, in that confusing handball situation, delayed, caused the team to lose focus and we ended up conceding the goal,” he analyzed.

Abel Ferreira was not on the touchline for this match. The coach was serving a suspension after being sent off against São Paulo in the previous round. Assistants João Martins and Vitor Castanheira took turns directing the team during the game.

Palmeiras standings

With another win in the Brazilian Championship, Palmeiras reached 22 points and now holds a three-point lead at the top of the table. Fluminense is right behind with 19. The green-and-white side has seven wins, one draw, and one loss. Verdão now prepares to face Bahia on Sunday.

Palmeiras’ next match

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