He struck it badly, sending it back toward his own goalkeeper
No coração do futebol paulista, o Palmeiras segue seu caminho sem tropeços, vencendo o Mirassol por 1 a 0 na Arena Barueri e mantendo o aproveitamento perfeito no Campeonato Paulista. A vitória, construída com paciência e selada por um reserva que soube aproveitar seu momento, revela tanto a solidez do coletivo quanto as contradições inevitáveis de qualquer grupo em construção. Liderar com 100% de aproveitamento é uma conquista, mas o futebol sempre reserva novas perguntas para quem está no topo.
- O Palmeiras precisava vencer para manter a liderança isolada, mas o jogo se arrastou sem gols até a entrada de Flaco López no segundo tempo.
- López foi derrubado na beirada do campo, Sosa cobrou com precisão e o argentino cabeceou para o fundo da rede — um único momento que decidiu tudo.
- Marlon Freitas e Luís Pacheco deram estabilidade ao meio-campo, mas Giay, Bruno Rodrigues e Vitor Roque desperdiçaram chances e deixaram dúvidas sobre o elenco.
- Com nove pontos em três jogos, o Palmeiras lidera o Paulistão e agora aguarda o resultado do Red Bull Bragantino para saber se conquista a ponta com folga.
- O próximo desafio chega na terça-feira, dia 20 de janeiro, contra o Novorizontino — e a invencibilidade será posta à prova mais uma vez.
O Palmeiras encerrou a terceira rodada do Campeonato Paulista com mais uma vitória, desta vez por 1 a 0 sobre o Mirassol na Arena Barueri. O triunfo foi magro, mas suficiente para manter o aproveitamento perfeito e a liderança da competição.
O gol saiu no segundo tempo, com Flaco López recém-chegado do banco. Após sofrer falta no lado do campo, ele aproveitou o cruzamento de Sosa e cabeceou com precisão para superar o goleiro adversário. Foi o único gol da partida, mas carregou o peso de uma decisão.
No meio-campo, Marlon Freitas foi o nome mais consistente em campo — controlou o ritmo, interceptou jogadas e distribuiu a bola com segurança. Luís Pacheco, em sua primeira partida como titular pelo clube, também agradou: tomou boas decisões e completou 87% dos passes, segundo o Sofascore.
Do outro lado da moeda, Giay teve dificuldades no posicionamento e pouco contribuiu no ataque. Bruno Rodrigues praticamente desapareceu da partida. E Vitor Roque, apesar do esforço físico, desperdiçou uma chance clara no primeiro tempo ao chutar a bola de volta em direção ao próprio goleiro quando estava sozinho na área.
Com nove pontos e três vitórias em três jogos, o Palmeiras aguarda o resultado do Red Bull Bragantino diante do Botafogo-SP para saber se consolida a liderança com vantagem. Na terça-feira, o time viaja a Novo Horizonte para enfrentar o Novorizontino — e a invencibilidade segue como o maior troféu a ser defendido.
Palmeiras left the Arena Barueri on Saturday night with their perfect record intact, having dispatched Mirassol 1-0 in the third round of the São Paulo state championship. The victory was built on the back of a substitute's decisive moment and a midfield that controlled the tempo with quiet authority. But it was also a match that exposed some rough edges—players who seemed to shrink when the moment demanded something more.
Flaco López arrived from the bench in the second half and changed the shape of the game. Around the 26-minute mark, he was fouled on the wing. Sosa lifted a ball into the box. López moved to meet it and headed past the goalkeeper, sending the Palmeiras supporters into the kind of release that comes when a team has been pressing for a goal. It was the only one either side would score, and it was enough.
In the middle of the park, Marlon Freitas played as though he had worn the Palmeiras shirt for years. The midfielder set the rhythm, breaking up play with sharp positioning and interceptions, moving the ball forward with composure and precision. He was the kind of player who makes a team feel settled, who takes the pressure out of possession. Luís Pacheco, making his first professional start for the club's academy graduate program, showed similar poise. He made good decisions under pressure and completed 87 percent of his passes, according to Sofascore—the kind of debut that suggests a player might have a role to play as the season deepens.
But three players fell short of what the moment required. Giay struggled with his positioning on the right flank, leaving gaps and offering little in attack. Bruno Rodrigues was even quieter, a forward who seemed to disappear into the match, offering almost nothing in the way of individual play or support. Neither man made a case for regular minutes.
Vitor Roque, wearing number 9, worked hard—he covered ground and pressed—but his decision-making was poor, and he squandered a chance that should have been a goal. In the 36th minute of the first half, he received the ball alone in the box after a one-two, but he struck it badly, sending it back toward his own goalkeeper Walter instead of into the net. It was the kind of miss that stays with a player, a moment when the game offered him something and he gave it back.
With three straight wins and nine points from nine possible, Palmeiras now sits atop the table with a perfect record. The team will watch to see if Red Bull Bragantino stumbles when they host Botafogo-SP on Sunday. If Bragantino slip up, Palmeiras will have seized the outright lead. Their next test comes on Tuesday, January 20th, when they travel to Novo Horizonte to face Novorizontino in the fourth round. The invincibility is real. The question now is whether it can hold.
Citações Notáveis
Marlon Freitas dictated the rhythm of Palmeiras' midfield and appeared to have been playing for the club for many years, showing firmness in marking and tranquility in circulating the ball— Match analysis
Luís Pacheco, making his first professional start, showed calmness and good decision-making with an 87% pass completion rate— Match analysis
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What made Flaco López's goal feel inevitable rather than lucky?
He came in fresh, and Palmeiras had been building pressure. The chance wasn't created by accident—Sosa's service was precise, and López was in the right place. But there's also something about a substitute who comes on and changes a match. It gives a team confidence.
Marlon Freitas seemed to play a different kind of game than the others.
He was the spine. When you watch him, you're not thinking about the score or the pressure. He's just moving the ball, breaking things up, making it all look simple. That's what good midfielders do—they make their teammates better without needing the ball themselves.
Why did Vitor Roque's miss matter so much?
Because it was his chance to be the hero, and he wasn't ready for it. He had time, space, and the ball. In that moment, a number 9 has to finish. He didn't. It's the difference between a 2-0 game and a 1-0 game, and in football, that difference is everything.
Does a perfect record this early mean anything?
It means Palmeiras is doing what they're supposed to do. But the state championship is long. What matters is whether they can keep this going when the pressure gets real, when the other teams stop making mistakes and start playing their best football.
What should we watch for against Novorizontino?
Whether Vitor Roque gets another chance and what he does with it. Whether the midfield stays as composed. And whether Palmeiras can win away from home, because that's when you really know if a team is built to win something.