Palmeiras faced Red Bull Bragantino away from home and managed to secure a 1-1 draw, after having a tough match in the Nabi Abi Chedid stadium. They played in a 4-2-3-1 with a lot of positional changes. Abel Ferreira’s side struggled to deal with Red Bull Bragantino’s high pressing and conceded some early chances, especially from dead-ball situations. Palmeiras tried to build up through short passes but were often quite sloppy or forced to play a long pass to Rafael Navarro. Helinho scored for Red Bull Bragantino in the first half and Deyverson managed to equalize from the penalty spot after Rafael Navarro won a penalty for the Copa Libertadores winners. The same Deyverson got sent off a minute after his goal as he had an altercation with the referee.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Gabriel Menino
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 29/09/2000
- Club: Palmeiras
- Career: Palmeiras (Y)
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary position: Right-Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Gabriel Menino operated as Palmeiras’s right central midfielder in this match. Standing at approximately 176cm with quite a muscular build, it was surprising to see that Menino seemed to get beat quite easily in physical ground duels. He lost his balance quite easily and failed to stay on his legs. Menino had good bursts of speed in the 1v1 duels but failed to maintain that speed over longer distances. The Brazilian did not seem the quickest overall and it seemed like his lack of dynamism in this match restricted him from making a mark as it was quite a high-intensity game. When trying to turn or change directions when sprinting he was not that quick and it seemed like he was quite heavy-footed at times.
On the ball, Menino showed why he has almost played 100 matches for the first team of Palmeiras. The Brazilian has a good technique, showing good ball control and coordination under pressure. However, in some situations, his link-up play in small spaces could do with some improvement. If his passing in the small spaces would have been slightly better, Palmeiras would have played out of pressure in more situations and this could have helped the Brazilian giants to control the match more. Gabriel Menino seemed smart tactically, running into spaces that opened up after Gabriel Veron dragged the Red Bull Bragantino defender with him when dropping deep on the right-wing. From there, he showed good vision to provide his teammates with a perfect cross and a big chance to score the equalizer.
Rating – B1
Gabriel Menino could have been the ideal right-back for teams like Benfica, Porto and Ajax if he had been more dynamic and a better athlete. However, at this moment, I think Palmeiras is his ceiling and he can win many trophies with the Brazilians.
Gabriel Veron
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 03/09/2002
- Club: Palmeiras
- Career: Palmeiras (Y)
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary position: Left Wing and Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Gabriel Veron played as a right-winger for Palmeiras but occasionally switched to both a more central position and a left-wing position. The young attacker has quite a stocky frame and is of the same height as Gabriel Menino (176cm). This helped Gabriel Veron in the more physical duels but did not restrict him from being changing directions quickly. The Brazilian showed good acceleration and was capable of maintaining that speed over longer distances. He has a good leap in aerial duels. His positional changes helped him to get away from his marker and to receive in space, allowing him to turn towards the goal and progress the ball further up the pitch.
The Brazilian showed his good vision and creativity to create multiple shooting opportunities for Palmeiras. One of the biggest chance of the match came after a good cross by Gabriel Veron. The young Brazilian spotted Eduard Atuesta in space near the penalty spot and played a perfect low cross towards the newly-signed Colombian. The attacker had good movement himself in the box, as he also positioned himself near the penalty spot and received the ball from Gabriel Menino. However, even though he did well to stay composed and dribble past his opponent, his shot got blocked by Leo Realpe. Gabriel Veron has a good technique and manages to control the ball well when dribbling. He sometimes was a bit sloppy on the ball, but at the age of just 19, that is not a huge problem.
Rating – A2
Once deemed as one of the biggest talents of Brazil, Gabriel Veron has failed to fulfil that title yet. However, the Brazilian is gaining a lot of experience at Palmeiras, having already played 70 matches for the first team. He has already won the Copa Libertadores twice with Palmeiras. Veron has good potential in the physical and athletic areas, while also possessing potential in the technical and tactical aspects. I think he could be a good long-term signing for clubs like Benfica.
Rafael Navarro
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 14/04/2000
- Club: Palmeiras
- Career: Fluminense (Y), Atletico-GO (Y), Botafogo (Y), Botafogo, Palmeiras
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Rafael Navarro was Palmeiras’s striker in this match and made an inconsistent impression. Standing at around 183cm with a muscular build, Rafael Navarro sometimes used his body quite well to get away from his marker (Leo Realpe) but with his back towards the goal he looked less strong to protect the ball. The Brazilian has good acceleration and was capable of maintaining that speed over longer distances. He had good changes of directions for someone of his frame and looked relatively agile. Rafael Navarro won half of his aerial duels, sometimes not timing his leap well. His acceleration on the first few meters helped Navarro to beat the goalkeeper to the ball and win a penalty, which eventually led to the equalizer for Palmeiras. Rafael Navarro did well to tirelessly put pressure on Bragantino’s back-line.
Navarro’s passing was quite sloppy at times, but he did show some characteristics of good link-up play, occasionally playing a good first-time touch through pass but not always managing to complete that pass. The Brazilian often got into good positions to create chances for himself, but looked quite unlucky in front of goal. In some situations, he was too wild in front of goal too. Rafael Navarro, on his left, did not strike the ball well and dragged it wide. His decision-making was questionable at times too, shooting from 30m+ out and not even getting close to the target. His technical ability with his weaker left foot did not look great.
Rating – B2
Rafael Navarro is yet to score his first goal for Palmeiras after scoring fifteen goals for Botafogo in the Brazilian Serie B last season. He does not look composed in front of goal. Navarro either drags it wide not showing good technique or aims it straight at the goalkeeper. His decision-making is not great but he did show some good characteristics in this match. I think he will become more confident and composed when he gets his first goal for Palmeiras and he needs time to adapt to the level of Palmeiras.
Target Scouting 