Atlético-MG vs Palmeiras roles reversed after the semi-finals

Atletico MG And the Palm trees It meets for the second year in a row in Editor’s Cup. Opponents in the semi-finals of the last edition, two of the country’s major clubs will face each other this time in the quarter-finals, tonight (3), at 9:30 pm (GMT), in Mineirao. But the club’s roles were reversed compared to last year, when Alfinegro arrived as captain of Brazil and Alverde relied on success in the continental championship to save the season.

At the time the leader of the Brazilian League, Gallo was trying what would be a perfect season, with titles from Mineiro, Nacional, Copa do Brasil and Editors. All that was missing was the continental championship that Palmeiras won. After a 0-0 draw at Allianz Parque and 1-1 in Mineirao, the Sao Paulo club advanced to the decision against Flamengo in Montevideo (Uro).

In the clashes that took place at the end of September 2021, Palmeiras arrived with pressure on coach Abel Ferreira to take over. The Portuguese was knocked out early in the Copa del Rey by CRB, of Alagoas, and already far behind Galo in the Brazil title dispute – he was eight points behind – the Portuguese was in high demand by the fans. But everything changed after the night of September 29.

Alverde advanced in the Libertadores and won the treble, as it was the second championship in a row, at the end of November. The fact of not fighting over the Brazilian Cup and Brazilian Championship titles was in the background, after all, America was once again back in the green, placing Abel Ferreira in the list of the greatest club in the history of São Paulo.

In 2022, the scenario completely changed. Atlético arrived as favorites for the major titles, but the poor performance on the field did not justify the expectations that arose around FC Minas Gerais. So much so that Gallo has already been eliminated in the Copa do Brasil, allowing Almeras to open up ten points for the Brazilian, and coach Turco Mehmet sent off.

Unlike Abel Ferreira, the Argentine coach couldn’t resist the huge pressure and fell nonetheless 69% success in the season and only five defeats. Cuca was called up to try to save Alvenegra’s season and win the trophy he missed in 2021.

“We have an obligation to fight with them and go to the next stage of the Libertadores. It is our dream, the fans, the board, the players and especially me. I haven’t won the Libertadores title yet. Everyone knows the responsibility for this match. It is important that we are far from Brazil. We know our responsibility is to pass “, commented the defender Junior Alonso, who last year was Atletico’s captain, but lost the captaincy of his team in 2022 to Hulk.

Decisive in 2021, the away goal criterion is invalid in this edition Editor’s Cup. Atletico and Palmeiras face each other on Wednesday in Belo Horizonte and in Sao Paulo next week. In the event of a new tie, the decision is in a penalty shootout.

data sheet:

ATLÉTICO-MG x Palmeiras

reason: Libertadores quarter-final first leg
place: Mineirao, in Belo Horizonte (MG)
date and time: August 3, 2022 (Wednesday), 21:30 (Brasilia time)
Rule: Facundo Tello (Argentina)
Auxiliaries: Diego Bonfa (Argentina) and Gabriel Chad (Argentina)
Video Assistant Referee: Thiago Juan Lara (Che)

ATLETIC-MG: Iverson. Mariano, Nathan Silva, Alonso and Dodo (Robbins); Otavio, Gere and Nacho Fernandez; Vargas (Zaracho), Kino and Hulk. Technical: Coca

Palm trees: Waverton. Marcos Rocha, Gustavo Gómez, Murillo and Pequerez; Danilo, Zee Raphael, Gustavo Scarpa and Rafael Vega; Dodo and Flaco Lopez. Technical: Abel Ferrara