On Thursday night (5), Palmeiras saw their dream of Tetra in the CONMEBOL Libertadores turn into a nightmare. Despite playing at Allianz Parque, with an audience of 40,398 enthusiastic fans, Verdão was defeated 4-2 on penalties by Boca Juniors, after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. With that, Palmeiras said goodbye to the continental competition in the semifinals.
This was the fourth time that the Buenos Aires team beat Alviverde in a knockout series in the competition, repeating the feats of the 2000 final and the semifinals of 2001 and 2018. On the first two occasions, Boca's victories were also decided on penalties.
In the grand final, Boca Juniors will face Fluminense, who qualified last Wednesday (4) by eliminating Internacional in Beira-Rio. The exciting clash will take place on November 4th, at Maracanã, broadcast live on ESPN on Star+.
In the game itself, the teams started cautiously, studying each other, which resulted in few opportunities at the beginning. The first significant chance came for Palmeiras in the 14th minute, when Gabriel Menino shot from outside the box, forcing goalkeeper Romero to take a rebound. Rony tried to take advantage, but ended up committing a foul, receiving a yellow card.
However, Boca Juniors took control of the match after the initial scare. With solid marking and efficient transitions, the Argentine team scored a beautiful goal in the 23rd minute, when Merentiel darted from the left and crossed low for El Matador Cavani to finish with a well-aimed save.
This was Cavani's first goal in Libertadores games in his entire career!
With the score unfavorable, Palmeiras showed nervousness on the field, making many passing errors and inaccurate crosses. Boca Juniors took advantage of this situation, with the young Barco causing yellow cards for Gustavo Gómez and Raphael Veiga.
Rony still had a chance to equalize in stoppage time, but the Xeneize defense managed to fend it off, maintaining a 1-0 lead for the visitors at half-time.
In the second half, coach Abel Ferreira made two substitutions immediately, bringing in Kevin and Endrick to try to give the team a new boost. Palmeiras improved considerably, creating attacking opportunities on the flanks.
In the 11th minute, Endrick served Mayke, who tried a cross, but the ball ended up going towards the goal and Romero made a spectacular save.
Endrick, just 17, continued to be a force in the game and in the 21st minute he was brought down by Rojo, who received a second yellow card and was sent off.
Abel Ferreira then adopted an even more offensive stance, replacing Gabriel Menino with Flaco López to increase the pressure on Boca Juniors.
Palmeiras' insistence was rewarded in the 27th minute, when Piquerez shot from outside the area, the ball deflected off the defense and beat Romero, leveling the score at 1-1.
Palmeiras fans exploded with joy, chanting “Palmeiras is the comeback team” at Allianz Parque.
In the last 15 minutes, Palmeiras launched an attack, with young Luís Guilherme entering the match in an attempt to turn the game around.
The Argentines, in turn, adopted a more defensive approach, seeking to delay the game with several stoppages, which resulted in several Boca players falling to the pitch.
In stoppage time, an incredible move: Luís Guilherme crossed and Rony hit a spectacular bicycle kick, but Romero made an incredible save, guaranteeing a draw for Boca.
As a result, the semifinal decision went to a penalty shootout.
The goalkeepers stood out: Weverton saved Cavani's shot, but Romero responded with a spectacular save from Raphael Veiga. However, Gustavo Gómez wasted another shot for Palmeiras, while Romero saved the shot in the corner, guaranteeing Boca Juniors' 4-2 victory on penalties and their place in the Libertadores final, in search of their seventh title.
