Not the least as it was Estudiantes who should have been reduced to 10 men after Enzo Pérez elbowed Franco Cristaldo at the 58th minute. This Estudiantes is overrated - I thought they were a contender because they won their country's cup, but they suffered a goal against a 10-man team at home vs. The Strongest. That play, by the way, was in no way deserving of a red, and The Strongest still gave Estudiantes a run for its money. Grêmio is alive, although their next match is at Huachipato, a team which has no real tradição copeira, but which has been a thorn in Grêmio's side (and which hosts The Strongest tomorrow; a Huachipato victory will put even more pressure on current lanterna Grêmio, while a victory by the Bolivians will make next week's match an anticipated final for Grêmio). Also, Atlético Mineiro with a 3-2 win over Peñarol - although the Uruguayans scored two goals after being down 3-0. A lesson for Atlético Mineiro never to relax, and Scarpa again contributing. @celito I hope Scarpa no longer being in your team doesn't come back to haunt Palmeiras in the later stages. Atlético Mineiro has 9 points - the only team in this Copa to win all its first three games. Only River Plate and Bolívar may also reach three wins in the three first matches.
I am actually sure it will bite us in the ass. Scarpa will score against us. I really don't get not getting him back. But hopefully Felipe Anderson will fit in quickly.
Old school away Libertadores game at altitude so far. All one way traffic. Tough to watch. I. de Valle 1 x 0 Palmeiras
del Valle score the 2nd but endrick pulls one back on Palmeiras only 2nd attack of the half. I. del Valle 2 x 1 Palmeiras - HT
Ind. Del Valle 2 x 3 Palmeiras - FT Big comeback. Two nice 2nd half goals for the win . Winning goal in the final moments. Team much better with Veiga out who has sleep walking for a while now. Abel o Bruxo.
In other results yesterday, Botafogo with an important win at home yesterday 3 x 1 against Universitario. The are still last in the group but the group is tight with only 2 points separating them from 1st place. Flamengo lost 2 x 1 in the altitude against Bolivar who have 3 wins in 3 games. Flamengo are fairly comfortable in 2nd place but doesn't control its own destiny in terms of finishing 1st in the group.
A historic virada by your team, and against a team which has become a pedra no sapato in Libertadores play who until yesterday was undefeated in all of 2024. I read some comments online which made me chuckle. Essentially, they amounted to "torcedor do Palmeiras que reclama do Abel tem que ir se f...." I was actually wondering until this week whether Palmeiras might have begun a descent from the apex it reached with two straight Libertadores title. After all, no team stays on top forever. But this result shows me that even if Palmeiras isn't the absolute favorite to win this Libertadores (and the argument may be made that it is), it's one of the favorites. Good for Botafogo. Their fans have suffered aplenty and it looks like their Portuguese manager is beginning to get things right. As for Flamengo, it was only its first defeat in jogos oficiais in 2024, and given it was in the Bolivian altitude, it was a perfectly normal defeat. As you said, however, I do wonder what'll happen to Flamengo in terms of final ranking. Given Flamengo's fifth and sixth group stage matches are at home and that the next match is at Palestino (who was goleado 0-4 by Bolívar at home and who has not yet scored in this Libertadores), Flamengo has a solid chance of winning the next three matches.
A lot of the criticism on Abel lately has at least some merit to it. He often seems to wait too long to introduce a new player into the squad while using some players who are clearly not delivering for multiple game stretch. He seems to have his favorites and applies different standards for them (Rony, Rocha, Breno Lopes, etc ...). These players can mess up multiple times and he defends them while if a player not in that group comes in and misses one play he has publicly made comments such as "he can't miss that chance", "he needs to cover back better here". essentially his favorites can do no wrong. As we say in Portuguese "um peso duas medidas". It just seems like he wants to be too loyal to players who have delivered in the past. His insistence on playing 3-5-2 is irritating because it has only worked well a couple of times and against weak opponents. As if he wants to play the system just because it's how he can fit his favorite players.
The irony here is that if Abel is as stubborn as you describe (and what I've read does appear to confirm that), he may fall short of titles because he has already won several championships doing this his way, and he therefore likely reasons his way works (and it often has worked). Yet if he made a few adjustments according to your analysis, and if such changes made Palmeiras likelier to win, he's then contributing to Palmeiras potentially achieving less than it otherwise could. SPFC visits Barcelona tonight. I hope my team returns from Ecuador with 3 points as yours did. Luis Zubeldía never defeated Barcelona when he managed LDU, but on the flip side, as a manager who worked in Ecuador, he likely knows Barcelona well.
There are 2 main issues to critical fans are typically not happy with. One is what I mentioned insisting with some players and not giving space to others who are more technically gifted. Last year's CL elimination is prime example. endrick only came in in the final mins and did well vs Boca but it was too late. Most feel they were proven right when endrick basically won us the Brasileirão. He should have worked endrick in earlier in the season. The same is now being asked with Luis Guilherme and estevão for example. Second is obviously the style of play which relies too much on direct play and crossing. No variation of short pass combinations. This is not something I think he will change. He has mentioned various times in press conf. for journalists to look up the stats on how goals are mostly scored in Brazil. So he is essentially just going with the odds.
São Paulo brings back 3 precious points from Ecuador. Highlights showed a São Paulo with aggressiveness and purpose. All due respect to Carpini as he helped São Paulo win the Supercopa, but it's a new chapter and Luis Zubeldía's debut was what SPFC fans hoped for. The next match is at Cobresal, the group's lanterna, in Chile. SPFC needs to win that match
Yes, I hear you. Looking back, Endrick would likely have made a difference if he'd entered the match earlier. In any case, a historic win for your team. It's your team vs. mine next. Here's to good futebol.