Palmeiras beat Sporting Cristal for first Libertadores win

Palmeiras beat Sporting Cristal for first Libertadores win

Palmeiras claimed their first win in the 2026 Libertadores.

The positive result came in dramatic fashion this Thursday (16), against Sporting Cristal, by a score of 2-1.

See the goals from the match below:

The match

The game was practically attack versus defense throughout the full 90 minutes.

Palmeiras kept the ball in the attacking half for much of the match, while Sporting Cristal defended their own penalty area.

Abel Ferreira’s team created good moves with its attacking players, but it was a center-back who opened the scoring.

After a short corner routine, Allan lofted the ball into the box and Murilo rose high to head it into the net.

Sporting Cristal barely threatened in attack during the first half, but when they did, they did it in style.

Juan Gonzalez leveled the score with a spectacular strike from outside the box, hitting a first-time volley.

Palmeiras and the crowd at Allianz Parque seemed to feel the impact of the goal.

As the team made simple mistakes on the ball and found it harder to trouble the opponent, the stands showed their impatience.

Flaco López even found the net with a header from another set-piece play, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The 2-1 only came from the penalty spot, awarded after a VAR review for a foul on Arthur. Flaco López stepped up and converted.

Pressing late in the match, the Peruvian side nearly found an equalizer, but Carlos Miguel made a miraculous save from a header inside the six-yard box.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.