Palmeiras played with the same formation that Abel Ferreira have been using in recent games, and one would expect that a full week of training and rest would improve the team’s performance. No such luck. For the fourth consecutive game against São Paulo this season, Palmeiras did poorly. Tiago Volpi perfromed a few saves, but nothing too exciting originated from the Verdão yesterday.
In fact, yesterday’s main attraction was the always terrible referee Luís Flávio de Oliveira. With confusing decisions, overturned after long VAR reviews, he further contributed to ruin a game that was already far from entertaining.
Line-up
Weverton; Marcos Rocha, Felipe Melo, Gustavo Gómez and Renan; Danilo (Patrick de Paula), Zé Rafael and Raphael Veiga (Victor Luís); Scarpa (Gabriel Veron), Wesley (Breno Lopes) and Deyverson (Willian).
Felipe Melo, Breno Lopes and Danilo received yellow cards.
Green Light
Palmeiras remain a very hard nut to crack and even on a bad night, the team kept another clean sheet – the fifth consecutive – and avoided defeat. Even if Atlético Mineiro win today, Palmeiras remain in pole position, one point ahead of the runners-up.
Yellow Light
Palmeiras worst games so far in 2021 was against São Paulo and unfortunately, they are our opponents in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores Cup. Abel must solve the riddle by 10 August, when the first leg is played.
Red Light
VAR in Brazil continues to be poorly executed. Long reviews, debatable decisions and terrible referees frequently make watching Brazilian football a rather painful experience.
Next Challenge
Another full week of training and rest and we expect this time things will improve. Palmeiras’ next game is Saturday night, at the Allianz Parque, against Fortaleza, one of the surprises of the tournament, currently in third place in the tables. None of the players booked against SPFC will be at Abel’s disposal against Fortaleza: Felipe Melo, Breno Lopes and Danilo all received their third yellow.
Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!
– – – 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 