Shattered by call-ups to National teams, injuries and covid-19, Palmeiras couldn’t count on 13 players – most of them regular starters – for the game against Fluminense. Abel Ferreira picked up the remaining pieces and Palmeiras were able to display another solid night of football.
In the rather uninteresting first half, neither team created much, Palmeiras having the best opportunity to open the scorecard, missed by Willian. In the second half, already in the 47th minute, a handball inside the box of Fluminense was checked by the VAR for what seemed an eternity before the referee decided on awarding the penalty. Raphael Veiga converted, and ten minutes later, he scored Palmeiras’ second to put final numbers to the game.
Line-up
Jailson; Marcos Rocha, Emerson Santos, Renan and Scarpa; Patrick de Paula, Zé Rafael (Ramires) and Raphael Veiga; Lucas Lima (Mayke), Veron and Willian (Breno Lopes).
Emerson Santos and Zé Rafael received yellow cards.
Green Light
Four consecutive victories in the Brazilian League, scoring nine goals and securing four clean sheets. Palmeiras keep going for the leaders, commanded by Raphael Veiga, reborn from the ashes, who is dominating our midfield.
Yellow Light
Willian is not having his best moments and keeps missing clear opportunities to score. In recent games, his misses didn’t cause harm since the team was able to find a path to the victory without his goals, but opportunities like this will make the difference in tough games, where the opponent parks the bus aiming for a goalless draw.
Red Light
The only negative thing to mention this week happened two days before the game, with Ramires irresponsibly going to a party while the team is amidst a covid-19 outburst. His test result was negative and he was fined, almost being removed from the squad that would face Fluminense.
Next Challenge
Palmeiras travel to the Northeast to face Ceará for the second leg of the Brazil Cup, on Wednesday 18th. With the three goal advantage built in the first leg, Palmeiras have everything to deliver a calm and secure game to end the night guaranteed in the semifinals, just four games far from another title in 2020. Abel counts with the possible return of Weverton, Viña and Gómez from their respective National Teams and depending on the progress of the game, we may see some new tests in the formation of the squad.
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 