Fluminense doze off, concede twice in four minutes and lose to Palmeiras | OneFootball

Fluminense lost to Palmeiras 2-1 this Wednesday at Arena Barueri, in the fourth round of the Brazilian Championship. Vitor Roque and Allan scored the goals for Palmeiras, while Lucho Acosta pulled one back for the Tricolor.

In the first half, Fluminense started by threatening with a long-distance shot from Savarino, but then switched off for four minutes—enough time for Palmeiras to score twice. Under pressure, Martinelli made a mistake with a pass in the defensive area and saw Maurício find Vitor Roque free in the box. The number 9 went down while trying to dribble Fábio and claimed to have been brought down by the Tricolor goalkeeper. The referee awarded a penalty, which Vitor Roque converted. Shortly after, Allan extended the lead. The young Palmeiras player took advantage of the space in the Flu defense, dribbled past Freytes, and shot. The ball deflected off Ignácio and went in.

After this blackout, Fluminense gradually recovered, started to dominate their opponent, and after much persistence, reduced the deficit. Following a poor clearance by Flávio Lopéz, Lucho Acosta won the challenge with Marlon Freitas and finished with class. If it weren't for goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, the equalizer could have come in the first half. The Palmeiras goalkeeper made great saves from shots by Acosta and Martinelli.

The big blow to Fluminense's momentum was the departure of midfielder Lucho Acosta, who felt muscle discomfort and did not return after halftime. Soteldo came on, Ganso dropped back into midfield, and Serna was centralized. Without number 32, who had been the best on the field, the rhythm of the Tricolor attack dropped considerably. Even so, Flu came close to equalizing. Savarino hit the crossbar with a shot from outside the box, Hércules couldn't quite get there to finish a ball inside the area, and Soteldo's beautiful volley was stopped by a great save from Carlos Miguel. Palmeiras also had chances to extend the lead, with shots off the post by Vitor Roque and Sosa, and a great save by Fábio from Murilo's header. Former Tricolor Jhon Arias came on in the second half but did not play a decisive role in any dangerous moments. He also picked up a yellow card for a hard foul on Guga.

With this result, Fluminense suffers its first defeat in the competition and drops to fifth place, with 7 points. Flu returns to the field next Sunday at 6 p.m. against Vasco, at Maracanã, for the second leg of the Carioca Championship semifinal. A draw qualifies the Tricolor for the final.

Photo: Lucas Merçon/FFC

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