Palmeiras beat Fluminense 1-0 this Sunday and remained top A draw is enough to win the title, which Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro and Botafogo are also aiming for and that will be determined next Wednesday when the final day of the Brazilian Championship will be played.
The club from São Paulo stays with us 69 points, three more than their two immediate runners-up, Atlético Mineiro and Flamengowhich kept its chances of winning the title alive with a 2-1 win against Cuiabá this Sunday and is in third place with 66 points.
Atlético Mineiro, that beat São Paulo 2-1 at the end of Saturday’s gamewith a goal in added minutes, is in second place, with the same points as Flamengo but a greater goal difference.
Palmeiras will retain the title, its second in a row and the twelfth in its history an easy draw in their final game on Wednesday when they visit Cruzeiro. But they can also win the championship if they lose and their pursuers don’t win by a historic landslide, as their points tally is much higher.
And that’s it The league final is red hot and the determination of the competitors could be seen on the pitch.
In the leader’s party, those led by Abel Ferreira dominated from the start although they faced a difficult Fluminense team who showed a steely defense on several occasions despite playing with several substitutes.
Fluminense coach and interim coach of Brazil, Fernado Diniz, He decided to reserve starters like fullback Marceloformer Real Madrid playerand Argentine goalscorer Germán Cano for the FIFA Club World Cup, which he will contest this month as champions of the Libertadores.
At Palmeiras’ meeting with Fluminense Endrickthe young player signed from Real Madrid was the star of the afternoon as point guard, along with Breno Lopes, who scored the winning goal.
The striker scored the first goal in the 16th minute after a masterful assist from the 17-year-old attacker, which was ultimately canceled by VAR because the ball was touched by Endrick at the start of the game.
Lopes He didn’t feel like it and ten minutes later, during a counterattack, opened the scoring.
Not happy, Almost at the end of the first half he scored againbut in the end it was canceled by VAR.
Things got easier for the club from São Paulo in the second half with the departure of Justen was sent off for a foul on Paraguayan Joaquín Piquerezwho had to leave the field due to knee problems and is questionable for Wednesday’s game.
Minutes later Ferreira replaced Endrick and Breno with the use of the Argentine José Manuel “el flaco” López and the young Jhon Jhon. Apparently the coach wanted to reserve them for the championship final.
In another game on the penultimate day Flamengo preserved the possibility of winning the title by defeating Cuiabá. But achieving that depends on a defeat against Palmeiras in next Wednesday’s visit to Cruzeiro, another setback from Atlético Mineiro and a landslide win against São Paulo, which hosts the Cariocas at their home stadium.
The students of former Brazilian coach “Tite” got off to a strong start The goal was scored by Luiz Araújo just five minutes after the ball rolled onto the pitch, and at the end of the first half they took the lead through a strike from Pedro.
In the second half, VAR awarded a penalty in favor of Cuiabá the foul committed by Uruguayan defender Guillermo Varela on Clayson. Clayson himself was responsible for the collection and scored the first goal for the Pantanero team.
Ten more minutes, The Maracana applauded the World Cup winner Filipe Luíswho was substituted in the final game of his professional career, a decision the former Atlético de Madrid player announced this week.
The one who failed to climb the table It was Botafogo who finished in fifth place because he barely managed a goalless draw at home against Cruzeiro and Nilton Santos left the state booed after a poor performance in recent weeks, for which he finally gave up the lead he held for almost the entire championship, and the ultimately led to him no longer having the option of winning the title.
Gremio, on the other hand, managed to climb to fourth place with a goal from the Uruguayan Luis Suárez, with which he wants to secure a place in the Copa Libertadores, without options since he also had no options to win the trophy.