São Paulo vs Palmeiras: The best bits – Abel’s red card, Arias’s goal, and the Choque-Rei meltdown

A Sunday derby at the Morumbi is always a special occasion, 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 moment of the drama, here are the best moments from São Paulo vs Palmeiras. And make no mistake – in this case, the “best” bits were the most explosive. The 1-0 win for Verdão, thanks to that stunning goal from Jhon Arias, ended up being a mere footnote compared to what happened after the final whistle.

Tensions were running high from the warm-up. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife as both teams took to the pitch knowing a place in the Paulistão final was on the line. Palmeiras came out with the intent of a side not wanting to slip up, 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. If you were watching the stats, possession was fairly even, but the tactical fouling was all on the referee, who seemed to have left his whistle at home.

And in that cauldron, anyone who knows their football could see it was only a matter of time before something sparked. That spark came in the 75th minute. Jhon Arias, already one of the best players on the pitch, received the ball on the edge of the area, cut inside, and unleashed a rocket into the top corner. The keeper had no chance. In that moment, the whole of Morumbi felt the blow. But what nobody expected was that the night still had another act in store, with Abel Ferreira playing the lead role.

The Portuguese manager, no stranger to a touchline drama, lost it over a refereeing decision in stoppage time. A bit of complaining is standard in a derby, but then the referee decided to go for the theatrical and brandished a red card. And then, lads, all hell broke loose. Abel went for him, having to be restrained by security and his coaching staff. It was a scene straight out of an action movie. Behind the scenes, videos of the sending-off are already going viral, racking up millions of views. You can clearly see the manager’s fury, and according to what I’ve heard from the camp, he didn’t even give a press conference afterwards, leaving his assistant to face the music.

Meanwhile, in the dressing rooms, the mood was one of outright war. I’m told that defender João Martins, a key leader in the squad, spoke to the press and hinted that the group is even more united after this. “They did everything to throw us off our game, but we came away with the win,” he apparently said, with a knowing grin. It’s this kind of inside story that makes our football so captivating.

For those only looking at the bare scoreline, it’ll go down as a narrow victory for Palmeiras. But for those of us who live and breathe this sport, what stands out is the certainty that the second leg, at the Allianz, is going to be absolute fire. Here’s what we can expect from the return fixture:

• Winner-takes-all stakes: São Paulo will have to chase the game, which will open up spaces for a side like Palmeiras, who love a counter-attack.
• Abel Ferreira in the stands? The automatic suspension from the red card means he’ll be watching from the stands. That’s going to shake up the tactics on both sides.
• The referee will be in the spotlight: After what went down today, the Brazilian FA (CBF) will have to appoint one of their best referees to ensure the game doesn’t boil over again.

Let’s not forget that the Brasileirão 2026 Série A BCD is just around the corner, and these derbies are the perfect yardstick. Palmeiras showed they have the star quality to make the difference, but also that their emotions can get the better of them. São Paulo, on the other hand, urgently need to find a way to score – playing well but failing to find the net at home in a Choque-Rei could prove costly in the long run.

It was an ugly, scrappy game, full of gamesmanship, but that’s exactly why we love this sport. If you watched the São Paulo-Palmeiras highlights and only saw the goal and the red card, know that you missed the 90 minutes of tension that built up to them. Now, we wait for the return leg. And you can be sure: nobody out there is going to forget what happened this Sunday.