After the draw against Fluminense on Wednesday, we hoped Palmeiras’ worst performance of the season was behind us. Not quite. Against Goiás, Palmeiras showed there’s more to come.
The visitors arrived at the Allianz Parque without 15 (fifteen) players diagnosed with COVID-19. Under normal circumstances, Palmeiras should win comfortably. With Goiás terribly decimated, anything but victory was unthinkable. Palmeiras were not playing well, but Gustavo Gómez scored the opener in the 18th minutes. Shortly before halftime, Goiás found the equalizer through a free kick. And the game turned into a horror show.
Line-up
Weverton; Marcos Rocha, Luan, Gustavo Gómez and Viña (Diogo Barbosa); Ramires (Lucas Lima), Gabriel Menino (Bruno Henrique) and Patrick de Paula; Zé Rafael (Wesley), Willian (Rony) and Luiz Adriano.
Lucas Lima received a yellow card.
Green light
(ironic mode on) Palmeiras remain unbeaten in the championship. (ironic mode off)
Yellow light
Including the games of the São Paulo state Championship, this was the eighth game of the season against a top division opponent without a victory: so far, Palmeiras count six draws and two defeats. Worrying.
Red light
The excuse of not playing for three months is valid to explain bad performances in this first few matches. However, what we saw yesterday was beyond acceptable, our players badly distributed on the pitch, missing basic passes and crosses, firing away bizarre shots.
Next challenge
There is little to no time for practice: Palmeiras face Athletico Paranaense in Curitiba upcoming Wednesday and on paper, this is the most difficult game until now. Get that chamomile tea out of the cupboard, brush up on your meditation routines; you’re gonna thank us later.
– – – ooo – – –
by Augusto Anteghini Oazi & Kristian Bengtson
*Here at Anything Palmeiras, we love football. We love Palmeiras. We are always keen to see Palmeiras play, and keen to write about it for you. But we’re against the return of football in a country that still hasn’t controlled the coronavirus pandemic. We express our deepest sympathy to the families whose loved ones have been taken by the disease.
ANYTHING PALMEIRAS 