Palmeiraswith a brace from the Argentine José Manuel López and another from Endrick, isolated themselves in first place in the Brazilian championship this Wednesday and then extended their lead as leaders to three points defeated America 4-0 on the penultimate matchday of the league.
With just two days left until the end of the tournament, the dispute between Palmeiras, Botafogo, Atlético Mineiro and Flamengo is blazing hot as each can retain the title, although the São Paulo club, the reigning champions, has a good chance of returning to the throne and thus win their twelfth league title. The Abel Ferreira-led sides have 66 points, three more than Botafogo, which returned to second place after a last-minute draw against Coritiba that ended 1-1. Also with 63 points, Atlético Mineiro and Flamengo are in third and fourth place based on goal difference.
Palmeiras defeated the bottom of the tournament from the first minute and was relegated to the second division with a great goal from the striker Endrick, the football pledge signed by Real Madrid. The advantage for the Paulistas came in the first half thanks to América with one Eder’s own goaland the end came almost at the end of the game with two goals José Manuel “the thin” López in just a few minutes.
Flamengowhich had been strengthened after the arrival of former coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi “Tite” at the helm of the team and was level on points with Palmeiras, fell to fourth place after his move humiliated 3-0 by Atlético Mineiro at the Maracana Stadium. The Cariocas were defeated by goals at home Paulinho, Edenilson and Rubens and thanks to a courageous Mineiro who took advantage of the opportunities and poor play of Flamenguista stars such as Uruguayan Giorgian De Arrascaeta.
Botafogo, on the other hand, had a game full of chances to score, which the club from Rio de Janeiro, who dominated the game despite Coritiba’s courageous defense, missed or gave up through luck. On their visit to Paraná, the game was plagued by fouls and both teams had ten players before the end of the first half. Botafogo scored with a penalty converted by Tiquinho Soares in the minutes of injury time in the second half and remained a point behind the leaders when the game was already over, but Edu equalized for Coritiba on a counterattack in the final seconds .
This means Palmeiras can be crowned champions on Sunday with one day’s notice if they beat Fluminense and their three rivals draw or lose. Botafogo hosts threatened Cruzeiro (14th in the standings), Mineiro hosts Sao Paulo (9th) and Flamengo hosts Cuiabá (11th).
In the day’s other games, Fluminense won 0-3 on their visit to Santos; Internacional defeated Cuiabá 0-2 and São Paulo defeated Bahía 0-1.