Palmeiras has not lost for 21 matches at Allianz Parque. There are 15 wins and 6 draws, since the defeat by Athletico Paranaense, by 2 x 0, in July 2022.
But he has already played more easily than he has shown in the last four games, against Bragantino, Ferroviária, Guarani and São Bernardo, three of them at home.
Against São Bernardo, it was known that the mission would be difficult.
São Bernardo coach Márcio Zanardi, a disciple of Jorge Sampaoli, whose assistant he was at Santos, gave the script for the game against Palmeiras on Wednesday, in a telephone conversation. He agreed that the tendency would be for Palmeiras to stretch a line of five forwards, in contrast to their line of five defenders. This was exactly the script for the first half. With refinement, Zanardi said that spaces for Palmeiras would be rare and the transition of the ABC team, very fast.
Léo Jabá the fastest winger..
What Zanardi described applied to perfection. São Bernardo finished seven times in the first half, two more than Palmeiras. The quarter-final match, which Abel Ferreira also expected to be difficult, only opened in the 42nd minute of the first half, in a cross by Gabriel Menino, with a good performance, in the head of Rony
São Bernardo complained about a penalty kick by Marcos Rocha, which did not exist. There were also dangerous attacks by the ABC team in the second half. A table on the right, by Fernando Neto with Hugo Sanchez, at 22]4 minutes. Two minutes later, another ball launched in Piquerez’s sector. In the second stage, Abel reversed the roles of the full-backs, gave Piquerez freedom, left Marcos Rocha at the exit of three men. This gave rise to attacks by São Bernardo on the right side of his attack.
Palmeiras is a watch from a tactical point of view. Everything works fine, at the right time, but some players haven’t had the best day. Gabriel Menino had an excellent performance in the first half, he fell in the second. Rony was decisive, but participated little in the second stage, Murilo made a silly mistake in the beginning, Raphael Veiga and Dudu were not at the best level.
It is not the first time that Palmeiras has suffered. There was a difficult game against Bragantino, he ran a lot backwards, against Guarani. Perhaps, with a higher level of demand in the semifinals, your ability to decide faster will also grow.
At the level of games against Bragantino, Ferroviária, Guarani and São Bernardo, Palmeiras will be favorites in the semifinals.
But he has played better this year.
