Palmeiras beat Santos 1-0 to lift second Copa Libertadores title

Palmeiras won its second Copa Libertadores title with a 1-0 victory against Santos. (Twitter/Palmeiras)

Palmeiras on Sunday won their second Copa Libertadores title as they secured a 1-0 win against Santos in an all-Brazlian final clash in Rio de Janeiro. This was the first Libertadores win for the Sao Paulo club since 1999.

Substitute Breno Lopes was the lone scorer from the contest. "I could never dream this could happen in my life, just the other day I was playing in the second division," Lopes said.

Placa devidamente instalada 

A AMÉRICA É NOSSA MAIS UMA VEZ! #AméricaVerde #AlmaECoraçãopic.twitter.com/KNqoHNhoD9 — SE Palmeiras (@Palmeiras) January 31, 2021

Lopes, who featured for second-divison club Juventude, joined Palmeiras in November. He was introduced in the contest at the dying stages of the regular time, replacing midfielder Gabriel Menino.

Lopes got into the scoresheet deep into stoppage time after he headed an incoming cross from Rony to hand his side a 1-0 advantage. 

The win also saw a Portuguese coach securing the continental South American title for a second straight year. Abel Ferreira, who took over as the manager of Palmeiras in November, follows the footsteps of Jorge Jesus, who won the title last year with Flamengo. The Copa Libertadores title was also the first title for the 42-year-old Ferreira as a manager.

A limited number of fans were permitted inside the venue after they tested negative for Covid-19.