Palmeiras' Group Stage Performance at the Club World Cup

Palmeiras advances to the next phase, but doesn't convince. In 3 matches full of ups and downs, the green and white team that remains unbeaten in the Club World Cup achieved 2 draws and 1 victory that led them to first place in Group B. In the next phase, their opponent will be Botafogo, which, despite qualifying in second place in their group, promises to give the São Paulo team a hard time.

Analysis of the Three Matches

The analysis of the first three matches points to a team very comfortable playing reactively, trying to take advantage of opponent's mistakes to activate their attackers at speed and take advantage of a likely disorganized defensive sector to create their main goal-scoring opportunities, which was also reflected in a lower number of passes exchanged by the team compared to opponents in the second and third games. Not by chance, most of Abel Ferreira's team's converted chances have as their starting point a counterattack or a ball recovered still in the offensive sector.

Another well-known strength of the green and white team is aerial play, with good headers like Flaco Lopez, Murilo, and Gustavo Gómez (who won 100% of aerial duels attempted in this first phase), crosses and set-piece situations usually bring danger to the opposing team. As an example of this, we have the two goals against Al Ahly; the first was the result of an offensive set-piece crossed into the area, which forced the Egyptian team to take a more offensive stance and offer more gaps for the reactive game plan so well worked by Palmeiras' team, while the second had its play initiated with a victory in an aerial duel in Palmeiras' defensive area, which triggered a devastating counterattack leaving Flaco Lopez with a clear path to attack from the midfield line.

Negative Points

Despite these unquestionably strong points, not everything is going well for the São Paulo team. The group stage games (especially the last one) exposed two flaws of the green team in this World Cup. The first and most notable is the lack of creativity during the offensive phase, the poor form experienced by Raphael Veiga (the team's main playmaker) compromises the entire play creation process, thus most attacks result in an attempt to cross into the center of the area, almost 90 in total across the three games, and although they were so numerous, they generally have little effectiveness (especially when Flaco Lopez is not on the field); as an alternative to the poor form of number 23, the coach has been betting on another midfielder, the young Maurício, who started the competition as a starter and came on in the other two games at halftime, in those minutes on the field, he accumulated more offensive actions, including an assist in the game against Al Ahly, and the equalizing goal against Inter Miami.

The second negative point of Palmeiras' team is the lack of aggressiveness of the team without their starting defensive midfield duo. The absence of Aníbal Moreno in the game against Inter Miami was greatly felt by Abel Ferreira's team, which, when positioned in the defensive sector, did not show the necessary intensity to recover the ball. Another consequence of this also notable in this last game was the performance of Richard Rios, who, finding himself without his usual partner, participated in 50% more plays with the ball compared to the other two matches and doubled his number of passes compared to his average, in addition to having his positioning affected, performing more functions in midfield.

Conclusion

Finally, Palmeiras' next opponent promises to be a great challenge. Both teams have fast attacks and abuse quick transitions, which indicates a dynamic and high-intensity game. Another highlight is the absence of midfielder Gregore in the black and white team, a fundamental piece in Botafogo's midfield. It remains to be seen whether Abel Ferreira's team will have the necessary intensity and competence to advance to the next phase.