Palmeiras are racking them up and knocking them down, the “taboos”. Not since August of 2008 had Palmeiras defeated Atlético at the Arena da Baixada. And so far in this Brasileirão, actually no team had tasted victory at the Baixada: seven victories and two draws for the home team.
This all changed after a solid performance by our men in green, who definitely showed they have overcome the turbulence of weeks passed, now firmly back on track. True, Atlético came without a few key players yesterday, but not many sports journalists thought Palmeiras could come out with more than a point. Atlético have been evolving well as a team, have a respected coach in Paulo Autuori, and a strong supporter base at the Arena da Baixada, where the pitch is equipped with artificial grass – one more complicating factor for visitors.
Palmeiras dominated the match from start to finish and let at least two additional goals slip by. Moisés was monstrous in midfield, commanding both offense and defence. We saw another excellent performance from keeper Jailson, confident and directing his teammates. Thiago Santos and Tchê Tchê kept Atlético at bay, facilitating the life of our centre-backs Thiago Margins and Vítor Hugo, the latter deserving a special mentioning for his match-winning goal.
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In addition to Zé Roberto, back from suspension, during the course of the week Edu Dracena, Mina and Leandro Pereira should become available to Cuca, who now turns his attention to Sunday’s home game against Ponte Preta. Possibly Palmeiras’ last game without Gabriel Jesus, the three point are crucial to keep contenders behind, Santos currently runner-up trailing three points.
Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!
ANYTHING PALMEIRAS 