Palmeiras defeated Athletico Paranaense this Wednesday in Sao Paulo 2-0 and thus rose to the title of the South American Recopa, adding another international conquest for the Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira. Ze Rafael and Danilo sentenced the victory of the champion of the last two editions of the Copa Libertadores, who faced the monarch of the Copa Sudamericana. Palmeiras had tied 2-2 last week in the first leg played in Curitiba.
The first pressure play came in the first minute with a header from Gabriel Verón, who surprisingly appeared as the starter, and required a save from visiting goalkeeper Santos. The homeowners wanted the goal from the start and Raphael Veiga, Dudú, Murilo and Rony had scoring opportunities in the first half, while the visitors, with timid arrivals from Khellven and Leo Cittadini, barely got close to Wéverton’s goal. .
In the second half, the ‘Verdao’ came out with everything and, quickly, at 49 minutes in an impeccable free kick executed by Ze Raphael opened the scoring. Dudú, Rony and Wésley were able to extend before the first quarter of an hour and then it was Ze Rafael who had two other clear scoring opportunities. With the adverse score, the coach of Paranaense, Alberto Valentim, moved his chips and retired the Uruguayan David Terans to give strength to the attack with the Ecuadorian John Mercado. Erick and Marlos brought the ‘Furacao’ (hurricane) closer to a draw, although in the final minutes the Paraguayan captain Gustavo Gómez almost extended the lead for Palmeiras.
When it seemed that the game would end 1-0, in a play by the recently entered Colombian Eduard Atuesta, Daniel took advantage of the assistance and put the final 2-0 in the 87th minute. Coach Abel Ferreira, who was already booked, was sent off after the second goal for an altercation with the visiting coaching staff during the goal celebration.
