Another tedious performance, another draw in the Brazilian League. Palmeiras opened the scorecard with a beautiful shot from Viña in the 22nd minute, but conceded the equalizer in the 43rd minute in an equally beautiful shot that left Weverton without a shadow of a chance. The score remained unaltered in the second half, no one was injured and that pretty much sums it up.
Line-up
Weverton; Marcos Rocha, Luan, Gustavo Gómez and Viña; Felipe Melo (Wesley), Patrick de Paula (Lucas Lima) and Mayke (Breno Lopes); Raphael Veiga (Scarpa), Rony and Luiz Adriano (Zé Rafael).
Luan and Viña received yellow cards.
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Green Light
Wesley returned after more than three months recovering from a knee injury and might prove an important asset in the upcoming Brazil Cup finals. Zé Rafael, who hadn’t played since the Club World Cup semifinal, also came on in the second half: one more option for Abel.
Yellow Light
We all know coach Abel Ferreira is very competitive, but it’s nevertheless difficult to understand the reasoning behind lining up players like Gustavo Gómez, Viña and Luiz Adriano for a game of literally no importance. There are no substitute of the same calibre to fall back on for these three; injury to any of them would certainly harm our chances in the Brazil Cup.
Red Light
Last three games have shown a worrying lack of intensity. If fatigue is the reason, why isn’t Abel resting key players? Are players under orders to go slow? Is Abel considering these training sessions? Is he testing stuff out? There are no clear answers to these questions, at least not from our point of view. Which leaves us and most supporters worried. There’s no telling where Palmeiras stand today, in terms of potential output. On Sunday, against Grêmio, are we to expect more of what we’ve seen lately, or will Palmeiras shift gears completely and floor the pedal? It’s anyones guess really. Here at Anything Palmeiras, we’ve been more confident.
Next Challenge
Finally, the Brazilian League has reached its last round. Between playing the finals of the Libertadores Cup, the Club World Cup and the Brazil Cup, Palmeiras didn’t have enough stamina to fight for the title of yet another tournament. A positive result against Atlético Mineiro on Wednesday could move Palmeiras one position up in the tables, into sixth, not that it makes any difference. For us, it’s all about Sunday 28th, then March 7th.
Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!
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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 