August 22 – Botafogo held on to a dramatic 2-2 draw to eliminate Palmeiras 4-3 on aggregate from the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
Taking a 2-1 lead to Sao Paulo, the Rio club took a 2-0 lead with goals from Igor Jesus and Jefferson Savarino, but in the last four minutes Palmeiras drew level with two goals. In injury time, the hosts had a goal from Gustavo Gómez’s disallowed by the VAR and Gabriel Menino’s attempt ricocheted off the crossbar, but Botafogo clung on to a draw and a ticket to the last eight.
“We knew how to suffer. A very difficult opponent. That movie from 2023 didn’t happen, no. We overcame it a long time ago,” said striker Tiquinho in a flash interview.
Last season, Botafogo suffered a dramatic 4-3 defeat at home against Palmeiras, a result that marked the beginning of the end of the club’s title dreams after spending much of the season at the top of the league table.
Botafogo have never won the Copa Libertadores and manager Artur Jorge struggled to come up with a rational explanation for his team’s near collapse.
At a news conference, he said: “We moved our line too far back to allow the ball to reach our area directly. But the 2-2 result suited us, if Palmeiras had scored that goal, it would have gone to penalties. It wouldn’t have changed anything in relation to what the game was, at least it wouldn’t have taken us away from anything.”
“It’s a high level of competition. It happens here, it happens in the Champions League, in any other championship. We have to be prepared and cautious so that it doesn’t happen to us.”
In Wednesday’s other ties, River Plate of Argentina, Colo Colo of Chile and Penarol of Uruguay claimed a ticket to the last eight.
In the quarter-finals, Botafogo will play Sao Paulo – Nacional. In Thursday’s last round of 16 tie, Flamengo defend a 2-0 lead against Bolivar at the altitude of La Paz.
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