Botafogo lost this Saturday by 0-1 in his visit to Atlético Paranaense, but even with that setback, he will conclude the ninth round of the Brazilian Championship in first place in the standings. The goal that defined the game was scored by Alex Santana with a missile from outside the area at the end of the first half, after a pass from the youthful Vitor Roque, one of the promises of Brazilian soccer that is in the sights of several European clubs.
Despite the defeat, Botafogo remains the sole leader of the tournament, with 21 points, although he has put on a plate the possibility of closing the gap on palmeiraswho is 16 and this Sunday will host bottom club Coritiba.
This Saturday he approached the leader Atlético Mineiro, who beat Cruzeiro 0-1 in the Belo Horizonte derby, thanks to a great free-kick goal from the veteran Hulk, who sent the ball into the net with a powerful shot from about 35 meters. The result brought Mineiro to 17 points, in a second position that could be taken away by Palmeiras, and left Cruzeiro in tenth position, with 13 points.
Corinthians, one of the greats of national football but which has not yet started this year, continues at the bottom of the table and deepened its crisis this Saturday by losing 2-0 against América, which with the victory rose to the box 18 of the classification. In another regional duel played this Saturday, Fortaleza tied against Bahía without goals, a result that left both teams in the middle of the table.
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