Palmeiras stretch 4W run to the top

Palmeiras made it 4W in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with a 2-0 home win against Bragantino on Saturday 24 October. The result leaves the leaders on 69 points from 32 games, with 20 wins, 9 draws and 3 defeats.

The margin at the top is thin. Flamengo sit second on 67, two points back, and they have the better goal difference at +36 against +34 for Palmeiras. Any slip gets punished.

What separates the two is the defensive record. Palmeiras have conceded 22 in 32 matches, and the split holds up home and away: 12 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss on their own ground, 8 wins, 6 draws and 2 defeats on the road. That is a team that does not give away points in clusters.

The current run of 4W came after a draw, and the last five read DWWWW. Four straight wins, and only the one blemish before them.

Next up is a trip to Santos on Wednesday 28 October, matchday 33. It is the kind of fixture that looks routine on paper and rarely is — Santos sit in the same division, chasing their own targets, and the leaders have to travel.

Behind the top two, the gap widens sharply. Cruzeiro are third on 54 with a goal difference of +5, level on points with Paranaense in fourth, who are +12. Fluminense have 51 and Mineiro 50. Nobody in that group is within two results of the lead.

So the title race is a two-team argument for now. Palmeiras have the points, Flamengo have the goal difference, and 32 matches have already been played. Twelve left to settle it.

Do the leaders have enough cushion? On this form, the question answers itself.