Palmeiras labour past Red Bull Bragantino, extend Brasileirão lead | OneFootball

Palmeiras had to work hard, but secured an important 1-0 win over Red Bull Bragantino in Bragança Paulista, in the 13th round of the Brazilian Championship. Flaco López scored Palmeiras’ goal in the first half.

With the result, Verdão opens up a nine-point lead at the top of the Brasileirão table. They now have 32 points, compared to 23 for Flamengo, Fluminense, and São Paulo — 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively. Flamengo and Fluminense have two and one games in hand, respectively.

Carlos Miguel and Flaco López shine

Red Bull Bragantino and Palmeiras played with great intensity from the opening minutes in Bragança Paulista, and the first-half stats reflect that: the home side had eight attempts, but only truly threatened once, while Palmeiras shot three times, hit the target only once — and that one was the goal.

The first big chance fell to Red Bull Bragantino just four minutes in, when Carlos Miguel made a great save from point-blank range on a header by Lucas Barbosa. It was the Palmeiras goalkeeper’s first miracle of the night.

After the scare, Palmeiras began to take more control of the match. And the goal did not take long to come. In the 20th minute, Andreas Pereira played a long ball to Ramón Sosa on the right. The forward brought it down with his head already inside the box, even under pressure, and managed to square it for Flaco López, who arrived and finished accurately to find the net: 1-0.

Red Bull Bragantino had more possession, with 52%, and tried to press the opposition buildup with a high line of pressure. The team mainly looked to attack down the left, with Mosquera, Sasha, and Juninho Capixaba rotating positions between midfield and the wing. Despite their presence in the attacking half, their moves did not turn into clear chances.

Knowing how to suffer

The team from Bragança Paulista came back from halftime looking better, but the first chance belonged to Palmeiras. Andreas took a corner, Gómez headed the ball back across goal, and Ramón Sosa got a dangerous touch that skimmed the post.

The home side responded. In the 4th minute, Mosquera tried his luck from long range and threatened — drawing applause from Jurgen Klopp, the legendary Liverpool manager and current Red Bull global head of soccer, who watched the match from the stands. The best chance, however, came in the 10th minute. Pitta crossed and Lucas Barbosa met it well with a header, forcing Carlos Miguel into another miracle save — his second of the night.

Despite the scare, Red Bull Bragantino created few real scoring chances, even though they had more of the ball. Herrera, in the 20th minute, shot harmlessly, and Pitta did the same in the 24th. In the 33rd minute, Bragantino threatened again with another ball into the box, from right to left. Capixaba threw himself to the ground trying to poke it into the net and nearly succeeded.

In the closing minutes, João Martins, Abel’s assistant coach who replaced the suspended manager, took off Jhon Arias and Sosa and brought on holding midfielder Emiliano Martinez and full-back Khellven. With the changes, Palmeiras dropped deeper but knew how to suffer, closing down spaces. Red Bull, despite having the ball, created nothing. Final score: 1-0.

What now?

Palmeiras now switches focus and returns to action on Wednesday (29) in the Libertadores. Verdão will face Cerro Porteño in the fourth round of the continental competition’s group stage — the Palmeiras side leads Group F with four points, followed by Sporting Cristal and Cerro, both with three.

In the Brasileirão, the team returns to the field on Saturday (2) against Santos at Allianz Parque, in the 14th round of the national competition.

Match details

Red Bull Bragantino 0-1 Palmeiras

Venue: Cícero de Souza Marques Stadium, in Bragança Paulista (SP).Date and time: April 26, 2025, Sunday, 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time)Referee:  João Vitor Gobi (SP)Assistant referees: Neuza Ines Back (SP) and Alex Ang Ribeiro (SP) VAR: Paulo Renato Moreira da Silva Coelho (RJ)Yellow cards: Juninho Capixaba (RBB); Felipe Anderson and Giay (PAL)Goals: Flaco López (1-0, 21' 1st half)

RED BULL BRAGANTINO: Tiago Volpi; Hurtado (Gustavinho, 42' 2nd half), Pedro Henrique, Gustavo Marques and Juninho Capixaba; Gabriel (Nacho Sosa, 42' 2nd half), Matheus Fernandes (Vinicinho, 15' 2nd half) and Eduardo Sasha (Rodriguinho, 15' 2nd half); Lucas Barbosa, Mosquera (Herrera, 15' 2nd half) and Isidro Pitta. Coach: Vagner Mancini.

PALMEIRAS: Carlos Miguel; Giay, Gustavo Gomez, Bruno Fuchs and Arthur; Andreas Pereira (Lucas Evangelista, 29' 2nd half), Marlon Freitas, Allan (Felipe Anderson, 11' 2nd half) and Jhon Arias (Khellven, 40' 2nd half); Ramón Sosa (Emiliano Martinez, 40' 2nd half) and Flaco López (Maurício, 11' 2nd half). Coach: João Martins.

Palmeiras’ upcoming matches

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