At the beginning of this Wednesday night (10th), I watched the game Santos x Bahia, in Vila Belmiro. It was the best match I saw Peixe play in the championship and, perhaps, in the year. Odair Hellmann’s team started overwhelmingly, going up, and in 14 minutes they were already winning by 2-0.
The 17-year-old Deivid Washington, who is replacing Marcos Leonardo, scored his first goal as a professional, and that moment is magical in the life of a young player. We feel that dreams are starting to come true — that’s how I felt when I scored my first goal. The boy is good with the ball, he moves well and with intelligence, he leaves for the backboard, being very smart inside the area.
The second goal was a perfect launch by Lucas Lima for Speed Mendoza, which came out in front of the goal and made Santos 2 x 0 Bahia.
In the second half, Ângelo’s first goal also came out, who is another boy from Vila who had not yet scored on this historic field. In a low cross, also by Lucas Lima, the goalkeeper rebounded and the boy just slapped the net. He ran off to give his grandmother and mother a kiss, which is everything to you when you’re starting to play football.
Santos had more chances to increase the result, but often took a while to finish and ended up losing opportunities.
The signing of Lucas Lima left a lot of people in doubt (including me), but Santos believed in the player, made a performance contract and later renewed. And he’s been making a total difference in the team. All creativity and game organization actions pass through his feet.
It was an important victory for the Vila Belmiro team to move away from the relegation zone, reaching 7 points. Of course, the round is not over yet and, depending on the other results, without a win, it could be in a delicate situation on the table. But I’m really enjoying the new generation of boys from Vila, as always talented.
Deivid Washington and Ângelo celebrate Santos’ goal against Bahia in the Brazilian Championship game
Image: Abner Dourado/AGIF
Palmeiras x Grêmio: green show at Allianz Parque
Right after the Santos show in Vila Belmiro, I went on to one of the great classics of Brazilian football. At Allianz Parque, Palmeiras and Grêmio met, who were “fierce” rivals in the 90s, with incredible and violent games for Libertadores de América.
The moment is completely different, because Palmeiras is the current Brazilian champion, while Grêmio returned to play in Série A after having stayed for a year in Série B.
Abel Ferreira’s team is the big favorite for the title, for being a super organized team, mentally strong and very successful in recent years. Renato Gaúcho, on the other hand, has a team in formation and with different intentions – I believe that the objective is to qualify for the next Libertadores.
The game started intense and with Palmeiras dominance, which in less than 10 minutes had two great chances to score. One in a spectacular counterattack, with a quick and precise replacement by Weverton with his hands.
Renato’s strategy was clearly not to leave defensive spaces, leaving the ball with Palmeiras and hoping to arrange a counterattack. While Abel’s is exactly on top of patience, to play the ball from one side to the other, making the gremista defense dance and hope to open a defensive hole for an infiltration, a table and mark the ball out hard to try to steal it fast or force the error to reach the finish.
Palmeiras’ dominance was so great that, at 23 minutes, ball possession was 71% to 29%. And it didn’t take long for the defensive “hole” to appear, because Grêmio’s marking danced with the ball turning from left to right. In one of these, Mayke looked and saw Raphael Veiga infiltrate the middle of the defense, putting the ball in his head to make it 1-0.
The team from Rio Grande do Sul had to turn around, because Palmeiras continued to go up with a very strong intensity, dictating the pace and putting the dynamics of the match in the way they like best. Grêmio even managed to try a counterattack, but the Palmeiras team quickly broke the play, because all the players give their all: this is one of the reasons this team is always a favorite.
Focus, commitment, delivery, along with the speed and technique of the players, make this team a great power in the hands of Abel Ferreira.
Just one detail: due to the superiority they had in the first half, Palmeiras failed a lot in the choices when deciding the move. He took a long time to finish or finished at the wrong time on top of the Grêmio defenders. He should have gone to the locker room with a two or three goal advantage, because in a defensive error or in an offensive move by Grêmio he could end up conceding a goal and complicating himself in a dominated game.
I just wrote this and the player Bitelo scored a great goal from the edge of the area, getting a draw in stoppage time due to the offensive failures of Palmeiras.
The second half started and a beautiful move from Palmeirense came out. Great cross from Arthur with Rony playing as a fish, hitting a strong header and ending with a spectacular save by goalkeeper Gabriel Chapecó.
In the next move, another aggressive move by Palmeiras, with a finish by Veiga with the goalkeeper playing for a corner. And, following that move, the referee scores a penalty for Palmeiras. Raphael Veiga went to the beat and scored his second goal.
The game continues in the same way as it was in the first half, that is, total domination by Palmeiras: aggressive, kicking, he managed to score the second goal, but if he falters again, he suffers a tie.
It’s a game for Verdão to win with ease, because Grêmio has already shown that it came to suffer, but that it is attentive to take advantage of the few opportunities that appear.
The intensity that Palmeiras puts into the game is impressive. We highly praise the great work of Abel Ferreira, but we cannot forget the physical trainer who makes this team have this spectacular condition.
How does this Abel Ferreira team play! A spectacle, he touches the ball quickly, changes of play until he arrives to finish. This time, Mayke accompanied and ended up getting the spare to make the third for Palmeiras.
Lateral Mayke deserves all possible praise. He was already on the dismissal list and, at a time with several players in the medical department, Abel needed him in a more advanced position. He went and regained all his prestige. Today he is a key player in the Palmeiras squad and has become Abel’s trusted man.
For the entire second half, Palmeiras continued to dominate, but with more efficiency to score goals. In a corner, defender Luan scored the fourth for Verdão.
I’ll be repetitive saying that Palmeiras is the strongest team in South America and Abel Ferreira, the best coach working in Brazil. For those who complained that their team won but didn’t play well, watched a green show tonight at Allianz.
In the 31st minute of the second half, and from the beginning of the game, Palmeiras was in total control, with a very strong intensity, an engaging game dynamics, without taking risks. Grêmio didn’t play at all because Palmeiras didn’t let the team from Rio Grande do Sul breathe.
Renato’s strategy went down the drain in the second half, and this game is for him to pay attention. Because, if you falter, the championship will be difficult. Of course, it’s the beginning and everything can improve for Grêmio, but it showed a lot of fragility in this match. Renato will not be able to compete in a difficult championship like the Brazilian without offensive aggressiveness, with difficulty creating and being attacked the whole game without reacting.
Palmeiras, on the other hand, is marching at high speed in search of leadership, and their great opponents are at the back of the table. At the moment, Botafogo, Fluminense, Athletico and Fortaleza, if they win tomorrow, are their competitors to fight at the top of the table.
The game went into stoppage time and the Palmeiras team was just waiting for the referee’s final whistle to celebrate a great victory, presenting a football to excite all Verdão fans.
End of game and Palmeiras is the new leader, with 13 points and 10 goals difference, the best attack in the championship.
#Santos #Palmeiras #give #ball #show