Overview
- Palmeiras, which beat Sporting Cristal 2-0 in Peru on Tuesday, moved to eight points and returned to first place in Group F.
- Flaco López opened the scoring and Ramón Sosa added a second at Estádio Alejandro Villanueva in Lima, giving Palmeiras its first away win of this Libertadores campaign.
- A home victory over Cerro Porteño on May 20 could confirm Palmeiras’ place in the knockout stage of South America’s top club tournament.
- Abel Ferreira renewed his criticism of Brazil’s match load, saying the CBF denied postponement requests and arguing the pace raises injury risk and leaves little time to train.
- The coach said a televised middle‑finger gesture was directed at López as tough love to keep him in scoring zones, while goalkeeper Carlos Miguel highlighted mental work with staff and Paulinho returned late after more than 300 days out.