Abel lives magical night five years after landing at the club

Abel Ferreira promised a ‘magical night’ for Palmeiras fans after the first leg loss to LDU, and he delivered at Allianz Parque in the second leg. Everything the coach planned to reverse the 3-goal advantage worked out — fittingly on the day he completed 5 years at the club. The Portuguese coach fielded a ‘kamikaze’ team with four attackers: Allan, Sosa, Vitor Roque, and Flaco López. The choice paid off early with Sosa scoring the first goal from Allan’s right-wing cross with a header. Abel’s coaching staff also played a key role in the second goal. Assistant Vitor Castanheira handles offensive set-pieces, and a rehearsed play led to Bruno Fuchs scoring the second late in the first half. In the second half, Palmeiras struggled to find the third goal to force penalties, prompting Abel to bring on Raphael Veiga — who ended up being the match-winner by scoring four minutes later. To cap off the ‘magical night,’ Allan, one of Abel’s new additions, made a fantastic individual play and won a penalty. Veiga, the player Abel subbed in, took the penalty and sealed the game. The tears shed by the coach after the final whistle reflected the relief following this victory. Abel had faced criticism from fans after the Copa do Brasil elimination to Corinthians, but he was once again praised throughout Allianz Parque on the night he marked his 5-year anniversary. Palmeiras has little time to celebrate the historic qualification as they are back in action on Sunday at 6:30 pm (Brasília time) against Juventude for the Brasileirão at the Alfredo Jaconi stadium. Palmeiras vs. Flamengo, in the Copa Libertadores final, will take place on November 29th at the Monumental stadium in Lima, Peru.