- With the 5-3 win over Fluminense, Palmeiras have won 10 of the 14 shoot-outs they have contested in the CONMEBOL Libertadores.
- They won all seven they played against Brazilian sides, and three of their four defeats came against Boca, the club with the most shoot-out wins in the tournament's history.
Marlon Freitas, a product of Fluminense's youth academy, struck his kick low to the left with his right foot and sparked the celebrations at the Nubank Parque. With the 5-3 shoot-out win over Fluminense, Palmeiras reached the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores Final and claimed their tenth shoot-out victory in the tournament's history. It was their 14th penalty shoot-out, giving them a success rate of 71%.
Only Boca Juniors, with 11, have won more shoot-outs than the 'Verdão' in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. But the 'Xeneize' needed 17 shoot-outs to reach that figure, and their success rate, 65%, falls below that of the São Paulo side.
The story began with a title. In 1999, with Luiz Felipe Scolari on the bench and Marcos in goal, Palmeiras knocked out Corinthians in the Quarterfinals 4-2 on penalties after losing the second leg 2-0. On June 16, in the second leg of the Final against Deportivo Cali, they won 2-1, levelled the tie and took the shoot-out 4-3: it was their first CONMEBOL Libertadores title.
The next two editions took that habit to the extreme, with six shoot-outs in two years. In 2000 they got past Peñarol in the Round of 16 (3-2) and Corinthians in the Semifinals (5-4), before losing to Boca in the Final (2-4). In 2001 they knocked out São Caetano (5-3) and Cruzeiro (4-3), and once again Boca stopped them in the Semifinals (2-3). Marcos was one of the key figures of that era: he became the club's first goalkeeper to save at least two penalties in the same shoot-out, something he did against Peñarol, against Cruzeiro and, later, against Sport in 2009.
Since then, the record has improved. Palmeiras beat Sport in the 2009 Round of 16 (3-1) and Atlético Mineiro in the 2022 Quarterfinals (6-5), in a shoot-out that went to sudden death, and lost to Barcelona in the 2017 Round of 16 (4-5) and to Boca in the 2023 Semifinals (2-4). One figure sums up their record against domestic rivals: they won all seven shoot-outs they played against Brazilian sides in the competition, against Corinthians twice, São Caetano, Cruzeiro, Sport, Atlético Mineiro and Fluminense. All four of their defeats came against foreign teams, three of them against Boca.
In 2026 they won two shoot-outs in the same edition again, as in 1999, 2000 and 2001. In the Quarterfinals in Quito, Liga turned the match around with two goals from Michael Estrada from the 90th minute onwards, but Carlos Miguel saved from Lucas Rodríguez and Luis Segovia, and Palmeiras won 4-3. According to Opta, the goalkeeper became the club's second to save two penalties in the same shoot-out, after Marcos. In the Semifinals against Fluminense he kept out Nonato's effort, while Maurício, Gustavo Gómez, Ramón Sosa, Joaquín Piquerez and Marlon Freitas converted all five kicks for the 'Verdão'. It was also only the second Semifinal between Brazilian teams to be decided on penalties, after Palmeiras and Corinthians in 2000.
The trend has continued under Abel Ferreira, who arrived at the club at the end of 2020: with the Portuguese coach, Palmeiras have won three of the four shoot-outs they have contested in the competition. On November 28, at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, they will play their second consecutive Final, the coach's fourth in seven editions in charge. If it comes to it again, they will arrive with a good memory on their side: their first 'Eternal Glory', in 1999, was also decided from the spot.
