Brazil's Palmeiras and Botafogo clubs were the first to take the field in the 1/8 finals of the World Club Championship. This was reported by Euro-football.ru.
In this match, they tested each other's strength. This rivalry represents the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
It is like a derby between two capitals, even though Brazil's official capital is different. In the group stage, clubs from the same country could not face each other, but the first round of the playoffs was a completely different situation. Palmeiras was in Group A with Inter Miami, Porto, and Al-Ahli from Cairo.
They collected five points, having the same number of points as the "Trophy Hunters," but despite the draw in their personal match, they advanced based on the overall goal difference. Botafogo, on the other hand, gathered equal points with PSG and Atletico Madrid.
The third team was unlucky in advancing to the playoffs. PSG and Botafogo advanced to the next stage due to better results in their personal matches. Although Palmeiras has an attacking playing style, they failed to open the scoring in the first half.
Botafogo's defense successfully thwarted positional attacks. Vitinyo did not give Estevao any freedom.
Pikeres struck from the left flank, but Roque could not place the ball in the net. A similar situation was shown by Botafogo in the 18th minute.
Artur made a cross from the right flank, but the ball was sent out of the turning angle. At the end of the first half, the "Lone Star" team took the initiative and put pressure on the opponent. At the beginning of the second half, Palmeiras became more active.
Richard Rios took a shot from a distance, but Viktor Jon saved his team by catching the corner kick. This was the brightest episode of the first half.
In the second half, Palmeiras was much more active. Estevao made dangerous shots twice from near the penalty area; in the first shot, Viktor Jon saved the goal, and in the second, there was an offside situation.
Pikeres crossed from the right flank, but Roque could not convert the ball into a goal. Later, Pikeres passed to Paulinho, whose header was saved by Jon. Palmeiras was closer to scoring in the second half as well, but the constant pressure was not against Botafogo's defense.
In extra time, the situation became even more complicated for Botafogo. Rios took a shot from a distance, and Viktor Jon returned it.
However, Paulinho, running alone from the right flank, made an accurate shot into the far corner, and the score was opened. Botafogo could not retreat and was forced to score. Artur struck a bit to the left, and Vitinyo hit the right post after Kuyambon's pass.
Gustavo Gomes from Botafogo received a second yellow card for a foul in the center and left the field for a long time. Then Vitinyo took a shot from a distance, but could not score. At the end of the match, Artur struck from a long angle, and Kayo earned a corner kick from the penalty area line.
After the corner kicks, there was a bit of chaos on the field, but Palmeiras' defense managed it. As time passed, no team was given a chance, and Palmeiras advanced to the quarter-finals.
There, they will play against Benfica or Chelsi. Author: Kirill Ivantsov
