Palmeiras Fall: Worst Abel Era Result vs. Novorizontino

After ten years, the Palm trees took a beating again. On a glorious Robson night, the Novorizontino walked around the Dr. Jorge Ismael de Biasi Stadium and gave a resounding 4 a 0 for the fourth round of Paulista Championship. It was the worst defeat of the era Abel Ferreira and in addition, it put an end to a streak of triumphs for the team from the interior as home team over the team from the capital, which had lasted since 1990.

Despite it being the beginning of the season, it is clear that there is little to extract from players worn out by their longevity at Palmeiras. These are the cases of Piquerez, Raphael Veiga and Emi Martínez. The same can be said about the coach. An inoperative midfield, a defense without the quality to be able to set up plays and a disorganized attack. The situation should set off a warning signal for the remainder of the year.

The question remains as to what else is left for Abel Ferreira to erase at the club? The coach lost admiration from some of the fans, added negative records – such as being the first team not to shoot on goal in a Libertadores final – and now has a rout on his CV. Given the repeated attitudes of Leila Pereira and Anderson Barros, there is nothing to expect regarding changes at the club. Armored and an “oasis”, as team members say, the team is hardly hit by criticism, many of which are reasonable, regarding the poor performance, in terms of ideas and repertoire, demonstrated by Palmeiras for more than two years.

Palmeiras’ next appointment is scheduled for Saturday. At 6:30 pm, the alviverde team hosts São Paulo, at Arena Crefisa. Novorizontino plays at home at the same time, but on Sunday, against Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto.

The result leaves Palmeiras in third place, with nine points. Novorizontino takes second place over Paulistão with the same number of points. There are four rounds left in the first phase before the knockout stage.

Palmeiras demonstrated great difficulty at the beginning of the first to create dangerous plays. Novorizontino marked the release of the white ball and managed to dominate the offensive actions of the match.

The season changed, but set pieces continue to be a problem for Palmeiras. From a corner kick, after the ball was blocked by the Alviverde defense at the first post, Robson appeared free to head into the small area and put Novorizontino ahead in the 19th minute.

Behind on the scoreboard, Palmeiras had to take more risks. Jordi made good saves for the home team. Despite the improvement in white, Novorizontino scored the second. Mayk crossed from distance from the left towards the second post, the ball passed behind Piquerez and Robson saved another, at 42.

After half-time, Palmeiras tried to put pressure on Novorizontino. The visitors took control of the attacking field. Unable to find the net, Abel dared and left the team with three center forwards: Luighi, Flaco and Bruno Rodrigues.

Striker, Luighi appeared in defense to make his first contribution of the game. It was not expected that it would be in favor of Novorizontino. Lomba handed the ball to the Palmeiras player, who tried to dribble at the edge of the area and lost possession. The ball splashed to Robson, who scored another, at 17.