Palmeiras beat Corinthians at the Neo Química Arena on Sunday night (8), 1-0, and guaranteed qualification for the round of 16 of the Campeonato Paulista.
At the end of the seventh and penultimate round of the first phase of the tournament, Novorizontino leads, with 16 points, and the Parque Antártica team is in second place, with 15 points. Corinthians is fifth, with 11 points, behind Bragantino (13 points) and Portuguesa (12).
The match was marked by the usual fierce tensions between the arch-rivals and a missed penalty by Memphis Depay.
At 33 in the first half, on a corner kick, Palmeiras goalkeeper Carlos Miguel went up to make the save and, in the confusion, landed a punch on Gustavo Henrique’s head. After much debate, the Dutch striker took the penalty, but slipped when taking the shot and isolated the ball.
The first half of the derby was balanced, with Corinthians dominating more ball possession, and Palmeiras seeking to exploit quick counterattacks. The home team returned more efficient in the second half and had more dangerous chances, forcing Carlos Miguel to make several saves.
In what seemed to be the best opportunity for Palmeiras, Luigi, who came on in the second half replacing Vitor Roque, disarmed Matheuzinho in the 32nd minute and ran alone to face goalkeeper Hugo Souza. The Corinthians defender, however, recovered in time to return the tackle and avoid the opponent’s goal.
At 38, Maurício built the play from midfield and shot the goal. Hugo Souza palmed the ball, and Flaco López knocked in the rebound, putting Palmeiras ahead. The celebration caused confusion between players from both teams, which was soon dispelled.
Abel Ferreira’s team —which announced on Saturday the signing of Jhon Arias, from Wolverhampton-ING— was coming off a 1-0 defeat to Botafogo-SP in the State Championship last Sunday (1st), and a 5-1 defeat to Vitória-BA on Wednesday (4th) in the Brazilian Championship.
Dorival Júnior’s team arrived at the derby after two victories: they beat Flamengo in the Super Cup, 2-0, on Sunday (1st), and Capivariano, 3-0, on Thursday (5th), in Paulistão.
The broadcast of the match, carried out by the São Paulo Football Federation, featured new resources, such as the referee’s camera and drones.
Palmeiras also came out on top in the women’s derby, on Saturday, with a penalty shootout victory over their rivals in the Women’s Super Cup.
Other games of the round
With a 2-1 victory over Noroeste, Santos went to nine points and moved away from the relegation zone. São Paulo hosted Primavera on Saturday and won 2-1, entering the G8.
On Saturday, the 2-0 defeat to Portuguesa at Canindé decreed the relegation of Ponte Preta, bottom of the championship, with just one point. The Campinas team had returned to Paulista A1 in 2024, after relegation in 2022.
Velo Clube, in 15th place, briefly dreamed of leaving the relegation zone. Luiz Otávio put the Rio Claro team ahead in the 44th minute of the second half, but Botafogo-SP equalized in stoppage time, with a goal from Fernando in the 51st minute. The team from Rio de Janeiro can still escape being defeated in the last round.
Next Sunday (15), all teams return to the field in a simultaneous round, at 8:30 pm, to define the final classification of the first phase of the tournament.
See the complete Campeonato Paulista table here.
