Palmeiras 2-0 Al Ahly: Brazilian side rise to the top of Group A | OneFootball

Palmeiras rose to the top of Group A of the Club World Cup after beating an Al Ahly side who could not handle the Brazilian pressure.

Goalless draws for both sides in their opening fixtures meant the pair came into today’s game level on points, before Inter Miami and Porto kick off later tonight.

A goal by Flaco López and pressure from Aníbal Moreno’s set-pieces ensured a vital win for the Brazilian side, who are in pole position to progress from the group stage, depending on their result against Inter Miami.

Egyptian champions Al Ahly dropped to the bottom of the group and require a win against Porto to stand any chance of survival in the competition.

As it happened

It was a back-and-forth opening quarter of an hour, as Trézéguet looked a decent threat for Al Ahly down the left flank.

A low strike from Estêvão could have put Palmeiras ahead after he broke into the opposition’s penalty area in the 18th minute, but the ball trickled wide of the post. The 18-year-old Brazilian winger will join Chelsea after signing for the club last summer for a fee of £27 million.

A red card was initially shown to Raphael Veiga by Anthony Taylor for a challenge on Ahmed Sayed in the 37th minute, but VAR later overturned the decision, and the Palmeiras midfielder only received a yellow card.

The New Jersey heat seemed to make the players’ blood boil, with four players receiving yellow cards in the first half.

Al Ahly looked threatening towards the end of the first half, but neither team could break the deadlock before half-time.

Palmeiras almost scored at the start of the second half after the ball was swept across the face of the goal by Joaquín Piquerez before finding López, who missed a simple tap-in.

A few minutes later, the Brazilian side finally broke the deadlock following a set-piece delivery into the box from Moreno, meeting Wessam Abou Ali, who headed the ball into his own net.

Moreno produced another sensational set piece 10 minutes into the second half which worried Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, who had to tip the ball over the crossbar to keep his side within a goal of their opponents.

López then managed to get his goal despite squandering the earlier opportunity, as he received a pass from substitute Maurício and broke through Al Ahly’s defence, doubling the Brazilian side’s advantage in the second half.

However, a severe weather warning brought what was an invigorating second half to a standstill, with players from both sides leaving the field at the hour mark.

The delay did not faze Palmeiras as they came back with the same intensity as when they left mid-way through the second half.

The Egyptian side managed to grasp a late spell of possession in the final minutes of the game, but squandered opportunities ensured Palmeiras maintained their clean sheet along with their three points.

The lineups

PAL: Weverton; Giay, Gómez, Murilo, Piquerez; Ríos, Moreno; Estêvão, Veiga, Torres; Roque

AHL: El Shenawy; Hany, Dari, Ibrahim, Attiat Allah; Fathi, Attia, Ben Romdhane; Zizo, Abou Ali, Trézéguet