Palmeiras beat Fortaleza and take lead in race for quarter-final spot

Palmeiras beat Fortaleza and take lead in race for quarter-final spot Palmeiras took the lead over Fortaleza in the battle for a spot in the next round of the Copa do Brasil this Sunday. Playing at Nubank Parque in São Paulo, the home side won the first leg of the Round of 16. All the goals in the match came in the second half and were scored by players who went to the World Cup: Maurício, Jhon Arias, and Flaco López. The return leg will be played next Wednesday (5) at Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá. Fortaleza chose to sell the hosting rights instead of playing the match at home. The match Despite the comfortable scoreline at the final whistle, Palmeiras had trouble creating scoring chances in the first half. In Paulo Autuori’s debut, Fortaleza even had more shots for much of the first half. The goal only came after halftime, when Maurício was played in by Sosa inside the box and struck firmly to beat João Ricardo. In the 18th minute of the second half, it was Arias’ turn to head the ball into the net after receiving a cross from Allan. Late in the match, Flaco López wrapped up the scoring by pouncing on the rebound from an Arthur shot. Despite having good spells in the match, Fortaleza only managed a shot on target in second-half stoppage time. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.