Palmeiras beats Atlético-GO and goes to the ‘final’ with Botafogo leading the Brasileirão

Palmeiras is the new leader of the Brasileirão. Abel Ferreira’s team defeated Atlético-GO, 1-0, this Saturday, in Goiânia, and took the lead at a decisive moment. The team from São Paulo asserted its favoritism against the bottom team and came out on top in a calm game, without suffering any scares in defense. Raphael Veiga scored the only goal of the match, which marked the relegation of the Goiás team.

The result took Palmeiras to 70 points in the standings, the same score as Botafogo, but with one more victory. The black and white team from Rio drew 1-1 with Vitória and let the lead in the championship slip away on the eve of the decisive clash between the teams. Paulistas and Rio de Janeiro faces each other next Tuesday, at Allianz Parque, at 9:30 pm, in an early “final”

After the duel with Botafogo, Palmeiras’ table still has clashes with Cruzeiro, away, and Fluminense, at home. The black and white team, in turn, will face Internacional, in Porto Alegre, and São Paulo, in Rio.

Abel Ferreira promoted Richard Ríos’ return to the starting lineup and kept Rony in command of the attack. The Colombian midfielder was sought after by his teammates to organize plays, while the number 10 moved a lot to open spaces for Felipe Anderson and Estêvão. With the obligation to win, Palmeiras put a lot of pressure on the opponent’s ball and gave Atlético-GO little room to breathe. The rain-soaked field made the ball faster and demanded more of the players’ physical strength.

Palmeiras opened the scoring with a goal that is the hallmark of the team in this final stretch of the season. Estêvão passed two markers in an individual play on the left and played for Raphael Veiga, free in the penalty area, to hit low into the goalkeeper’s corner. Ahead of the marker, the São Paulo team took the opportunity to retreat and exploit the opponent’s weakness in counterattacks. Tactically and technically, the team from Goiás was not in any danger. Rony even hit the post with a shot from the left.

After the break, Palmeiras maintained the strategy adopted in the initial stage after the goal. He left the ball with Atlético-GO and managed the match, marking the opponent, who did not demonstrate the quality to create good chances. Little by little, the São Paulo team gained space to counterattack, but abused passing errors. Little by little, Abel Ferreira oxygenated the team, putting Flaco López and Menino on the field, resting names like Veiga and Rony.

The rain punished Goiânia again in the final stretch of the match and the game became increasingly bureaucratic. Palmeiras limited themselves to kicking forward and barely finished. Atlético-GO tried to improve with substitutions, but the Alviverde defense had an insurmountable night, guaranteeing the third consecutive victory for the Palmeiras team.

ATLÉTICO-GO 0 X 1 PALMEIRAS

ATLÉTICO-GO – Ronaldo; Bruno Tubarão, Adriano Martins, Alix Vinícius and Guilherme Romão; Roni (Maguinho), Baralhas and Rhaldney (Gonzalo Freitas); Alejo Cruz (Janderson) and Luiz Fernando (Joel Campbell); Hurtado (Derek). Coach: Anderson Gomes.

PALMEIRAS – Weverton; Marcos Rocha, Gustavo Gómez, Vitor Reis and Caio Paulista (Vanderlan); Aníbal Moreno (Zé Rafael), Richard Ríos and Raphael Veiga (Gabriel Menino); Estêvão (Fabinho), Felipe Anderson and Rony (Flaco López). Coach: Abel Ferreira.

YELLOW CARDS – Baralhas, Luiz Fernando and Roni (Atlético-GO); Zé Rafael and Flaco López (Palmeiras)

REFEREE – Jonathan Benkenstein Pinheiro (RS)

GOALS – Raphael Veiga, 19 minutes into the first half

LOCATION – Antônio Accioly Stadium, in Goiânia (GO)