Botafogowith a goal from Venezuelan Jefferson Savarino, beat 1-3 Palmeirasregained the lead alone and took a giant step towards winning the League title, with two days left in the championship. Gregore, in a rehearsed play in the 19th minute, and Savarino, on the counterattack in the 73rd minute, opened the way to victory for the Rio team, now with 73 points, three more than Palmeiras, which finished with ten after the expulsion of Marcos Rocha in the second half.
Adryelson closed the win in the 89th minute and Colombian midfielder Richard Ríos scored the goal of honor for Palmeiras in his hundredth game with the green team shirt. The three points are a boost for Botafogo, which in four days will play the final of the Copa Libertadores against Atlético Mineiro at the Monumental in Buenos Aires.
The match was presented as a final and it did not disappoint. Duel between the two leaders, tied on points before the opening whistle and with two of the most expensive squads on the continent. And also a duel between two Portuguese technicians: Abel Ferreira and Artur Jorge. Palmeiras, forced to take control of the match, overwhelmed their rival in the first quarter of an hour.
Botafogo, which came out with its gala eleven despite the proximity of the Libertadores final, started nervously after having given up first place after nineteen days. The ghosts of last season, when they allowed themselves to come back thirteen points in three months precisely against Palmeiras, were waiting around the corner.
Rony and Caio Paulista (Palmeiras) dispute a ball with Luiz Henrique
Paraguayan Gustavo Gómez scored the goal for Palmeiras with a header that went off the post. Meanwhile, Estêvão, the young promise negotiated by English Chelsea, left his first glimpses: a hat, a tunnel…. Palmeiras was and felt superior. The problems of the Rio de Janeiro team were aggravated by the muscle injury of Bastos, who left the Allianz Parque in São Paulo in a golf cart. The Angolan center back is a doubt for Saturday’s final.
Luckily for the visitors, Palmeiras did not convert their dominance into goals and the scoreboard worked perfectly for them. They had barely approached Weverton’s domain when a short corner taken by Alex Telles ended up in the boots of Argentine Thiago Almada, who found Gregore inside the area.
The Brazilian midfielder didn’t have to be there, but he finished and scored. The goal will give a lot of talk, since the corner that caused it should not have been called, since the last one to touch the ball was a Botafogo player. Palmeiras’ reaction was automatic. Rony ran into the post and John Víctor used his reflexes to deflect a header off Rocha’s foot.
After the break, the locals maintained their spirit with the entry of Argentine striker ‘Flaco’ López, but they suffered from the same lack of aim. The hopes of the current League champions vanished with the expulsion of Rocha. The veteran winger reacted to a slight push from Igor Jesús with a slap on the face of the Brazilian team forward that sent him straight to the showers. Expulsion following a tip from the VAR. It was the 70th minute.
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With numerical superiority, Botafogo sentenced the counterattack through Savarino and certified the win with Adryelson. Carat victory and blow on the table of the ‘galactic’ project of the American magnate John Textor.
