O Palm trees overwhelming experience of recent years in the Libertadores, with impeccable campaigns in the group stage, has not yet appeared in 2026. The alviverde team lost leadership of your key when making another bad game and draw with Cerro Porteño 1-1 this Wednesday (29), in Asunción, Paraguay.
At the La Nueva Olla stadium, the São Paulo team was the protagonist of good minutes in the first half and scored with Jhon Arias. In the final stage, however, he stopped playing and had a terrible final 45 minutes. Cerro Porteño deservedly got a draw, despite the obvious technical fragility of the Paraguayans, who were satisfied with the point gained at home.
There are five points for Palmeiraswhich fell from the lead to second place in Group F. Sporting Cristal, from Peru, is now in first place. Cerro has four points and is third.
Demanded to play better football than they had been presenting, often limited to the rebound and long throws, Palmeiras showed improvement in Asunción. In the first half, he played calmly and was dominant from the 22nd minute onwards, as soon as the game resumed after the hydration break.
It wasn’t exquisite football, but did the simple thing well to control the match: ball on the ground, short passes and players close to each other. There were a few chances until Marlon Freitas found Allan, who rolled the ball for Arias to push into the net.
Allan, with the pass, redeemed himself from unbelievable wasted chancein the small area, minutes before. Flaco and Arthur also tried and didn’t make it to the networks.
Technically poorCerro left ex-Vascaíno Vegetti alone, a good center forward, without a single opportunity
In the second half, Palmeiras was the one nothing produced. The team coached by Abel Ferreira simply stopped playing and allowed the home team to attack them.
The Paraguayans, even with technical deficiencies, felt comfortable and tightened until tied in an unfortunate move by Carlos Miguel, who saw the ball hit his back and enter after Iturbe’s shot that had exploded against the post.
Palmeiras left a little laziness aside to go after the victory. But, with enormous difficulty in creating and finding loopholes in Cerro’s defense, the visitors did little. The winning goal was prevented by goalkeeper Martín Arias, who saved Murilo’s header in extra time.
TECHNICAL SHEET
CERRO PORTEÑO 1 x 1 PALMEIRAS
PORTEÑO HILL: Martin Arias; Quintana (Melgarejo), Velásquez, Pérez; Rodrigo Gomez (Iturbe), Morel, Viera (Klimowicz), Domínguez (Cesar Bobadilla) and Chaparro; Torres (Peralta) and Vegetti. Technician: Ariel Holan.
PALM TREES: Carlos Miguel; Giay (Khellven), Gustavo Goméz, Murilo and Arthur (Jefté); Marlon Freitas, Andreas Pereira, Arias (Lucas Evangelista) and Allan (Felipe Anderson); Sosa (Maurício) and Flaco López. Coach: Abel Ferreira.
GOALS: Arias, at 32 in the first half; Carlos Miguel (against), at 26 of the second.
YELLOW CARDS: Allan and Iturbe.
ARBITRATOR: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguai).
PUBLIC AND INCOME: Not available.
LOCAL: La Nueva Olla Stadium, in Asunción, Paraguay.
