With a goal from Rollheiser in the 45th minute of the second half, Santos beat Palmeiras 1-0 on Saturday night (15), at Vila Belmiro, and left the relegation zone of the Brazilian Championship. With the second consecutive defeat, Abel Ferreira’s team continues with 69 points, three behind leader Flamengo.
This Saturday’s match was valid for the 13th round of the competition — postponed due to the Club World Cup.
The two teams had faced each other on the 6th, with Palmeiras winning 2-0 at Allianz Parque. Scorer of the two goals, Vitor Roque is with the Brazilian team for friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia.
At Vila Belmiro, Santos had the support of Neymar, who refused to play on Allianz’s synthetic pitch. Juan Pablo Vojvoda even tested Neymar as a center forward, but the star had a discreet night both with the ball at his feet and when taking shots at his own teammates.
Frightened by the possibility of returning to Série B, the Santos fans made noise from before the ball rolled and sang the chorus of a night of war. The black and white team tried to respond with possession of the ball, but struggled to break through Palmeiras’ defensive block.
The main scoring chance came from Santos with Barreal, 20 minutes into the match. Barral entered the area and, face to face with the goal, demanded a save from Carlos Miguel, with his left leg.
Abel Ferreira returned for the second half with Flaco López and Luighi, respectively, replacing Bruno Rodrigues and Felipe Anderson. The alviverde team became more dangerous, after the suffocation of the first stage.
With the game open, Vojvoda gave up midfielder Zé Rafael in the 41st minute of the final stage and replaced midfielder Rollheiser. Four minutes later, Rollheiser received the ball from Robinho Júnior inside the area and scored the ball to guarantee the victory.
With 36 points, Santos took 16th place from Vitória.
Palmeiras returns to the field on Wednesday (19) against Vitória at Allianz Parque, at 7pm. On the same day, Santos hosts Mirassol at 9:30 pm, at Vila Belmiro.
