At the time of writing, Palmeiras hold third place in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, trailing the leaders Fortaleza, who have played one fewer match, by only four points.
Additionally, they are three points behind the second-place team, Botafogo, which makes the race for the title highly competitive.
On the offensive front, their statistics are good.
They have the third-strongest attack in the league, scoring 36 goals, which places them behind Botafogo and Flamengo, who have scored 41 and 38 goals, respectively.
Defensively, their performance is even more impressive.
They have the second-best defence in the league, conceding only 19 goals, which is just one more than Internacional, who have the strongest defence but have played four fewer matches.
One factor contributing to their defensive success is their effectiveness in defending set-pieces, especially corner kicks.
Notably, they are the only team in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A that has yet to concede a goal from a corner kick.
In this tactical analysis, we will explain their defensive system and the tactics they employ to defend against corner kicks.
We will also highlight potential weaknesses and provide suggestions for overcoming this defensive strategy.
Palmeiras Defensive Formation
Starting with defining their main general defence scheme, they follow the hybrid defence system, combining zonal marking and man marking, taking advantage of each systems advantages.
As shown in the photo below, they use six zonal defenders in the six-yard area to protect it as the most valuable area while also giving the first one a special duty to stand in a different body shape to track any attacker who runs to the area before the near post to flick the ball, as we will see later.
After that, they have three man markers to mark the best three players of the opponent and a player, in green, to stand on the edge of the box for the rebound.
Against predicted out-swinging crosses, the zonal defenders push high to be more outside due to the predicted ball flight, as shown below.
Fi
