It was only three days ago that Palmeiras lost in the Super Cup final against Flamengo. Once again, another defeat via penalties on Wednesday left them on the losing end against Defensa y Justicia in the Recopa Sul-Americana final.
Palmeiras lost by a 2-1 score-line to Defensa y Justicia in regular time. After 30 minutes without goals in extra time, they suffered a 4-2 defeat to the Argentine side in penalties. It was an historic win for Defensa, who add another trophy to their recent Copa Sudamericana triumph.
Luiz Adriano and goalkeeper Weverton missed crucial penalties in the shootout, while Gustavo Gómez missed another from the spot during extra time.
It was a game ultimately clouded by VAR and refereeing decisions.
Uruguayan referee Leodan González required the help of VAR on three separate occasions after initially making wrong calls. Ron got a penalty correctly awarded only after the use of VAR. The same happened in extra-time as well, the crucial penalty which Gustavo Gómez went on to miss. If that wasn’t enough, the referee also needed VAR to confirm Matías Viña’s kick on Meza, which eventually led to his dismissal.
Speaking after the defeat, Palmeiras captain Gustavo Gómez says his side must move on from the defeat and now turn their focus to other competitions. He said: “I think it was a close game. Football is like that. It is very difficult to talk now, but football is like that, we have to accept, work and think about the next championship. We have Paulista, Brasileiro, Libertadores, we will work to keep improving”.
Palmeiras faces a tough schedule ahead of them, with three games in six days. On Friday, they will take on São Paulo in the fifth round of Paulistão before another game against Botafogo-SP on Sunday. Following that clash, they will switch their focus to the Libertadores when they make their debut in the competition against Universitario next Wednesday.
