- Palmeiras opened the scoring with their first shot, despite having just 27% possession, and created the three best chances of the match.
- They became the first visiting team to beat Fluminense in a CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout match.
When José Manuel López found the far corner in the 45th minute of the first half, Palmeiras had yet to register a shot. It was their first attempt of the night at the Maracanã, coming after Fluminense had already tried their luck five times, with the São Paulo side enjoying just 27% possession. That move encapsulated the 2-1 victory in the first leg of the CONMEBOL Libertadores semi-finals. The game plan had been clear even before kick-off.
“That was the objective: defend well and counter-attack with quality,” explained Vitor Castanheira, one of Abel Ferreira's assistants, who addressed the post-match press conference as the Portuguese head coach was serving a one-match suspension following his sending-off in Quito. “We needed to close down the spaces because they play well through the middle, and keep the passing lanes shut,” he added. The team followed the plan to the letter: they dropped deep towards their own penalty area, allowed the hosts to dominate possession and waited for opportunities to break forward.
Opta's statistics illustrate just how effective the approach was. Fluminense had more shots, 11 to seven, but Palmeiras produced the three best chances of the match according to the expected goals model: López's goal, worth 0.55 xG, and efforts from Felipe Anderson (0.20) and Ramón Sosa (0.14). From the opening goal until the final whistle, both sides registered six shots apiece. Another statistic captures the contrasting use of territory: when Paulo Henrique Ganso was substituted in the 78th minute, he had completed 38 passes in the final third, almost as many as the entire Palmeiras team, which had recorded 41.
The second goal came just as Fluminense were applying their greatest pressure. In the 85th minute, following a series of ricochets inside the penalty area, Felipe Anderson headed the ball back and Marlon Freitas finished from around the penalty spot. “On the three or four occasions when we managed to break forward, we were clinical and could have scored another goal,” Castanheira summed up, while acknowledging that his side had lacked “a little composure on the ball and better build-up play”.
The approach contrasted with one of Palmeiras' defining characteristics in this year's competition. According to Opta, the ‘Verdão’ entered the semi-finals with the most aggressive pressing approach among the teams remaining in both continental competitions, having registered 69 ball recoveries in the opposition half. At the Maracanã, they adopted a different strategy: pressing less aggressively high up the pitch, defending deep and looking to exploit the spaces left by Fluminense. What did not change was their route to goal, which rarely relies on lengthy spells of possession. Before the first leg, none of their 21 build-up attacks had produced a goal, while six of their 15 goals had come from set pieces. This time, they struck on the counter-attack and, for the second time in the competition, scored with their first shot of the match, having done the same against Junior in May through Jhon Arias. López also became the first player in this year's CONMEBOL Libertadores to register four goals and four assists.
The result also carries historical significance. Palmeiras became the first visiting team to beat Fluminense in a CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout match. Before this semi-final, the ‘Flu’ had recorded 15 wins and five draws in 20 home matches at that stage of the competition. And they achieved it at a stadium that holds fond memories. On 30 January 2021, Palmeiras defeated Santos 1-0 in the 2020 CONMEBOL Libertadores final at the Maracanã, with Breno Lopes heading home a stoppage-time winner to secure the club's second ‘Eternal Glory’. It was the first of two Libertadores titles they won under Abel Ferreira, who had taken charge only a few months earlier.
The victory also underlined the team's resilience away from home. Palmeiras had suffered a 3-2 defeat against Liga in Quito, although they progressed on penalties that night thanks to two saves from Carlos Miguel. According to Opta, they have not lost consecutive away matches in the CONMEBOL Libertadores since 2022-2023: across their subsequent 21 away games, they have recorded 14 wins, four draws and three defeats. Against Brazilian opposition, they had also avoided defeat in six of their previous nine away matches in the competition.
The tie, however, remains open. Wesley Natã's stoppage-time header left Fluminense needing a one-goal victory to force a penalty shootout, with the second leg scheduled for Wednesday, 21 October, at NuBank Parque, where Abel Ferreira will return to the touchline. “We're only halfway through the tie. There are still another 90 minutes to play,” Castanheira warned. Palmeiras' game plan at the Maracanã has already been revealed. In São Paulo, with the ‘Verdão’ playing at home, a different approach awaits.
