On Sunday, Palmeiras play Grêmio for the eleventh round of the Brazilian Championship, but it’s only Verdão’s tenth game, as the clash against Vasco da Gama in the first round remains unplayed.
In the first nine matches, Palmeiras accumulated 17 points, with four victories and five draws, being the only team that hasn’t been defeated yet. The football displayed still raises some criticism, with the team being unable to secure victories when the odds are on our favor, but the return of an inspired Gabriel Verón propelled the team to a virtual second position in percentage of points won.
A victory against Grêmio would give Luxemburgo and Co. the third best start Palmeiras ever enjoyed in the history of the Brazilian League, behind the title campaign of 2016 (22 points) and the incredible start of 2019 (26 points).
Walking away with points against Grêmio would mean a tenth consecutive game undefeated in the tournament. The only time Palmeiras remained undefeated after the first ten matches happened in 2019 (8V + 2D). On the other side of the spectrum, we have the 2006, in which Palmeiras was defeated in eight of the ten first matches.
It’s important to note the excessive number of draws Palmeiras have in the 2020 edition. Although a draw against Grêmio would make this year’s campaign the 5th best in number of points, it would be the 4th with less victories, better than 2006, 2010 and 2012 only.
The comparison with previous years shows that although performing a football that still have room for improvements, the results Luxemburgo has achieved so far continue to be good. With Flamengo struggling after the departure of Jorge Jesus, no team has delivered impressive exhibitions and all of the top-6 teams are very leveled. The most important is to maintain a very small gap to the leaders and Palmeiras are achieving this goal just fine. The title remains possible, but this is the subject of the performance review after 30 games.
Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!
– – – ooo – – –
by Augusto Anteghini Oazi
*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 