Botafogo makes history and maintains unbeaten record at Nilton Santos in victory against Red Bull Bragantino

On a farewell night for assistant coach Claudio Caçapa, Botafogo once again confirmed their impeccable record in games at Nilton Santos for the Brazilian Championship, going undefeated in their stadium by defeating Red Bull Bragantino by 2-0. In addition to having more than 37,000 alvinegros, Glorioso has not conceded goals since the first match of the competition and was consecrated as the best campaign in the history of consecutive points until the fifteenth round. Massa Bruta, on the other hand, despite the good performance in the match, was unable to maintain its invincibility that lasted a month.

First time

In the meeting of two teams at the top of the table and known for a good football presented in the Brazilian Championship so far, the match at Nilton Santos had a lot of movement in the offensive actions. But mainly due to the great phase they are experiencing within the competition, Botafogo found it easier to create some opportunities on the counterattack, making Bragantino seek balance again in possession of the ball. It didn’t take long for the submissions to happen and in ten minutes, Glorioso reached Cleiton’s goal twice. However, in both, Tiquinho Soares and Luis Henrique failed in their aim, missing the target.

After some unsuccessful attempts by Red Bull Bragantino, Botafogo had the clearest chance of the first half in the 25th minute. Junior Santos insisted on speed after the lateral kick and went on a run, the winger’s individual play ended with his cross being partially cleared by the defense. The rebound was offered for Eduardo to finish, the midfielder with a certain freedom ended up finishing on the crossbar.

Second time

A few seconds of the final stage were enough to prove that the confrontation would continue at an accelerated pace, as well as in the opening minutes. Bruninho passed by the opposing markers through the area and was face to face with Lucas Perri, the Botafogo goalkeeper was decisive in defense, avoiding the first goal of the game. The consequence of wasting a great chance came very quickly and Bragantino paid for the mistake. In Cuesta’s launch in the defensive field, Cleiton and Natan got in the way, leaving Tchê Tchê free to cross, ending the move with Eduardo, who took the zero of the scoreboard in Rio de Janeiro.

The insistence of the current leaders remained constant and pushed by the crowd, Botafogo reached the second, in the move started by Tchê Tchê at 14. Segovia tried to look for Luis Henrique in the middle of the Bragantino defenders, but the rest of the pass was left clean for Di Placido to fill the foot, scoring Nilton Santos’ 700th goal, giving goalkeeper Cleiton no chance of defense. The disadvantage on the scoreboard gave the visitors more need to attack until the end of the match, but they ended up not overcoming the opponent’s well-placed defensive system.

After Cláudio Caçapa replaced Luís Castro for four matches, Botafogo is waiting for the Portuguese Bruno Lage to take over the club’s technical command. However, before the new coach, Glorioso reached 39 points on the table, becoming the best campaign in accrued points by surpassing Corinthians in 2017, which added 37 until the fifteenth round of the Brazilian Championship that year. Red Bull Bragantino, on the other hand, had its unbeaten streak ended after a month, and could lose its position within the G6, ranking sixth with 24 points.

Featured Photo: Botafogo players celebrating during the match. Playback/Twitter