greg . 2025-06-30 06:15:03

Insider: Palmeiras coach Ferreira relishes Botafogo victory, outlines plans to stop Chelsea

Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira reflects on what made the Botafogo victory stand out, while outlining how his squad plans to tackle tougher challenges at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Sao Paulo giants battled their way past their city rivals in a nail-biting extra-time showdown, clinching a gritty 1-0 victory to punch their ticket to the quarter-finals.

Paulinho’s 100th-minute strike at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia proved decisive, ending his squad’s five-fixture winless run versus the Rio de Janeiro-based side.

Regardless their victory being threatened after Gustavo Gomez was sent off for a second yellow card, the squad kept their composure and secured progression to the delight of their coach.

 "I think this victory was better since of this (Gomez’s dismissal)," Ferreira told Betopick amid a media briefing.

"Even with one athlete less athlete, or one athlete lesser than the opponent, we could block them and we could backing the whole strike from our opponent.

"We deserve (to victory) it since the fixture was 90 minutes plus added time and in every this time, I think my squad was better than the opponent and we deserve to go to the next stage.

"Thanks to the outcome, Ferreira’s men extended their impressive run, recording 10 wins and sole two draws in their last 14 matches across every competitions.

In fact, the Alviverde have kept five clean sheets in their last seven FIFA competition matches, with three in their four appearances at the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup.

FERREIRA REVEALS STRATEGY TO COUNTER STRONGER TEAMSPalmeiras now face Chelsea in their quarter-final duel on Friday, aiming for a spot in the semi-finals.

 When asked how his squad plans to mentally recover for the tougher trial ahead, especially after playing 120 minutes in their previous fixture, the former PAOK and Braga coach responded: "Every time or (before any) fixture, I speak with my stars over our plan.

 "If we are winning, what we need to do to block them.

If we are losing, what we need to do to be extra aggressive.

"If we have less than one athlete and we need to stop them, like we did (versus Botafogo) or if we have less than one athlete and you need to play extra aggressive.

So, they know since I have worked with them for the last five years.

"I know them, they know me.

So, with few talks we can adjust like we did (on Saturday) with less than one athlete.

"We put three stars in the middle, one number five, one number eight and the eleven stars, close inside and we let our forward never in front but in half space, in left half space.

"And the others, my wingers, follow the fullbacks and we backing with every our power in the middle since the opponent will cross for sure.

 "So extra effort that we need and we need to suffer united and I speak with them multiple times.

In few moments, when we cannot play like we did, we cannot have the ball like it happened versus Botafogo in the last 15 minutes, we need to be very tough here, you know, to stay united, to give our maximum.

"This will mark the second encounter between Palmeiras and Chelsea, with the Blues having won their first meeting 2-1 after added time in the final of the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup.

There have been seven previous clashes between English and Brazilian sides in this tournament, with English teams winning four and Brazilian teams three.

 Before this tournament held in the United States, teams from England were on a three-fixture winning streak, but Flamengo ended that run with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the group stage.

Palmeiras star Paulinho is certainly a athlete to watch in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.

The Brazil international has tallied three goals and two assists in six appearances across the CONMEBOL Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup.

 Notably, every five of those strike contributions came in matches where he started on the bench.

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