SAO PAULO (AP) — Sao Paulo-based Palmeiras won its 11th Brazilian league title and second in five seasons with a 4-0 home win Wednesday over Fortaleza to secure the trophy with three games in hand.
Rony opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Dudu made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute. After the break, Rony netted his second in the 48th minute and Endrick completed the scoring from close range in the 64th minute.
It was the 16-year-old Endrick’s first goal in front of home fans at the Allianz Parque in Sao Paulo.
Endrick scored his first professional goal on Oct. 25 in Palmeiras’ 3-1 win at Athletico. His professional debut was two weeks earlier at a 4-0 victory against Coritiba, also in a Brazilian league match.
Palmeiras, the club with most Brazilian league titles, reached 77 points after 35 matches and kept a double-digit advantage to its closest rival Internacional, which lost 1-0 to America earlier.
Among Palmeiras’ best players in the title-winning campaign were goalkeeper Weverton, a likely name on Brazil’s World Cup squad to be announced on Nov. .7, and 21-year-old midfielder Danilo, who is a likely target of European clubs for the next transfer window.
Endrick is expected to remain at the club for the defense of its title next year.
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