São Paulo vs Palmeiras: The wildest moments – Abel’s red card, Arias’s screamer, and Choque-Rei chaos

A Sunday derby at Morumbi is always something special, but today’s Choque-Rei will go down in history for all the wrong reasons. If you missed the live broadcast or want to relive every bit of the drama, here are the best moments from São Paulo vs Palmeiras. And make no mistake: in this case, the “best” moments were the most heated. The 1-0 scoreline for Verdão, with that absolute screamer from Jhon Arias, ended up being a minor detail compared to what went down after the final whistle.

The tension was already there from the warm-up. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife when both sides take the field knowing a spot in the Paulistão final is on the line. Palmeiras came out with the intent of not giving an inch, but São Paulo, playing at home, piled on the pressure from the get-go. It was a scrappy first half, with few clear-cut chances. Anyone following the derby stats would’ve seen possession was fairly even, but the tactical fouls were all on the ref, who seemed to have left his whistle at home.

And in that cauldron of tension, anyone who knows footy could see it was only a matter of time before a spark flew. The spark came in the 75th minute. Jhon Arias, who’d already been one of the best on the pitch, received the ball at the edge of the box, cut inside, and unleashed a rocket into the top-right corner. No chance for the keeper. In that moment, Morumbi felt the sucker punch. But what no one expected was that the night still had an absolute circus act in store, starring Abel Ferreira.

The Portuguese manager, who’s no stranger to letting his feelings be known, lost it at a refereeing call in stoppage time. A bit of back-and-forth is normal in a derby, but then the ref decided to play the drama card and showed him a red card. And then, mate, the place erupted. Abel went off, having to be held back by security and coaching staff. It was a scene straight out of an action movie. Behind the scenes, the videos of the red card are already going viral, racking up millions of views. You can clearly see the manager’s fury, and from what I’ve heard, he didn’t even give a post-match presser, leaving the media duties to his assistant.

Meanwhile, in the sheds, the mood was like a declaration of war. I heard that defender João Martins, one of the squad’s leaders, spoke to the press and hinted the group is more united than ever after this. “They tried everything to throw us off our game, but we came away with the win,” he apparently said, with that wry smile that tells you they’ve got the upper hand now. It’s this kind of backroom drama that makes our football so bloody passionate.

For those who only look at the scoreboard, it was a narrow win for Palmeiras. But for those of us who live and breathe the sport, what remains is the certainty that the return leg at Allianz is going to be absolute fireworks. Here’s what we can expect for the second leg:

• Elimination stakes: São Paulo will have to chase the game, leaving space for a Palmeiras side that loves to hit on the counter.
• Abel Ferreira in the stands? His automatic suspension from the red card sidelines him for the next match. That could shake up tactics on both sides.
• The referee takes centre stage: After today’s antics, the CBF will have to appoint one of their top officials to keep things from boiling over again.

And let’s not forget the Brasileirão 2026 Série A BCD is just around the corner, and these derbies are a perfect gauge. Palmeiras showed they have the star power to decide a match, but also that their emotions can be a liability. São Paulo, on the other hand, urgently need to find a way to score, because playing well but failing to hit the net at home in a Choque-Rei could cost them dearly in the long run.

It was an ugly, scrappy game, full of gamesmanship, but that’s exactly why we love this sport. If in the São Paulo vs Palmeiras highlights you only saw the goal and the red card, just know you missed the 90 minutes of tension that led up to each of those moments. Now, it’s a waiting game for the return leg. And you can bet your bottom dollar: no one involved will forget what went down this Sunday.