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Flaco Lpez, Palmeiras striker, who left the bench to score the second goal
Two second-half goals proved enough for Palmeiras to seal their opening win of the FIFA Club World Cup over Al Ahly
Palmeiras secured their first win of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ and hit the top of Group A with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly.
Al Ahly dominated the ball in the opening exchanges and things may have been different when the Brazilians thought they were down to ten men after 37 minutes. Rafael Veiga was given his marching orders for a tackle on Zizo, however after consultation with the pitch-side monitor, referee Anthony Taylor reversed his decision and instead produced a yellow.
After more than two-and-a-half games, the first goal of Group A finally arrived, but it went into the wrong net. Forward Wessam Abou Ali, well accustomed to scoring for his own side, glanced an Anibal Moreno free-kick into the far corner, beyond the helpless palms of goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.
Palmeiras put the seal on things ten minutes later when substitute Lopez doubled their advantage. The Argentine striker latched on to fellow half-time arrival Mauricio’s through ball before he escaped the late challenge of Mohamed Hany and slipped his effort in off the post.
Adverse weather conditions forced a 40-minute delay in the second period, but the Verdão were able to see out the remainder of the match to put the next round into their sights. They'll face Inter Miami next time out, while Al Ahly take on Porto.
48' ? GOAL! We have the first goal of Group A: Abou Ali with the unlucky header for an own goal and @Palmeiras lead! ?
“One free kick and it’s 1-0 and then we give away the ball for another one. I think it was a 50-50 game before that but they scored the goals and the game was beyond us. We tried to come back after the storm with a new approach but we didn't manage to create enough.”
Jose Luis Riveiro, Al Ahly head coach
"I'm very happy with everyone's work. It was a very important game for us. Thank God we managed to score two goals and take the three points to continue our dream. He [coach Abel Ferreira] read the game well, made the right substitutions and they paid off. Everyone here gives their best on and off the pitch, and the game today was spectacular for us."
"We were lucky. It was a tough game. It's the third time we've played against Al Ahly. They're used to these competitions too, so it wasn't an easy game for either team, but I think it's a very fair win. We could have scored one or two more goals, so I accept the result." (FIFA.COM)
