Tomorrow Wednesday, Palmeiras play Atlético Goianiense for the 31st round of the Brazilian Championship. In the first 30 matches, Palmeiras accumulated 55 points, with 17 victories, four draws and nine losses. Since our last performance review, Palmeiras had a perfect sequence, winning the five last games in the tournament.
This year’s campaign is Palmeiras’ fourth best since under the league format at this stage (30 games). The 55 points mark is only inferior to the title winning campaigns of 2016 and 2018, and the terrific campaign in 2019 that didn’t result in a title but is Palmeiras’ best after 30 games until today.
The perfect performance in the last five rounds put Palmeiras back in the runners-up position, but still 10 points behind leaders Atlético Mineiro. With only eight rounds to go, the title seems highly unlikely. However, Palmeiras are likely to secure a spot in the group stage of the 2022 Libertadores before the last rounds, allowing the team to focus on the Libertadores final against Flamengo.
Palmeiras are very efficient in scoring in the first half, being the team with the most goal scored in the opening 45 minutes in the current season of the Brasileirão (26 goals). But the team also concedes very early: only Chapecoense have conceded more goals in the opening 15 minutes than Palmeiras (11 vs 7). Against Sport and Grêmio, this wasn’t an issue, because Palmeiras managed to come back for the win, but being at a disadvantage early in a game is of course never a good thing.
The terrible performance at the start of the second half of the tournament have dramatically reduced the chances to bag the title. The dip was long and there were speculations regarding Abel’s exit, but Palmeiras was able to return to the path of solid exhibitions: a well-timed return to form considering the Libertadores final end of November.
Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!
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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 