Palmeiras and Botafogo draw and Rio de Janeiro team qualifies for the Libertadores

On Wednesday night (21), Palmeiras and Botafogo faced each other in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores da América. With a 2-1 victory in the first leg, the Rio de Janeiro team only needed a draw to qualify for the quarterfinals, and they did. Botafogo opened up a 2-0 lead in the second half, and Palmeiras fought hard to equalize in the final minutes. The match ended 2-2 and Botafogo qualified for the next phase.

First half

Botafogo started to scare early in the match. Before five minutes of the first half, Savarino received the ball in the midfield with a lot of freedom and after a well-placed shot, the ball ended up hitting the post of goalkeeper Weverton who didn't even react to the play.

The game was tight and contested, with neither team managing to exchange quality passes. Palmeiras only managed to get ahead twice in a row, at 17 minutes and 20 minutes, with two good plays from Estêvão, but on both occasions they were unable to finish with quality, being blocked by the defense when they were about to finish.

In the 23rd minute, Palmeiras had the best chance of the first half. In a move that started with Estêvão on the right wing, the midfielder managed to find Richard Ríos who crossed the ball to Flaco López's head, who rose alone in the penalty area, but headed over the goal.

Despite not having had any other chances as clear as Flaco López's, Palmeiras were considerably better than Botafogo in the first half, who even tried a few counterattacks. Towards the end of the first half, Palmeiras tried to corner Botafogo close to the area, but the Rio team defended well and did not suffer many dangers.

Second half

The second half started with a bang. In the first minute, Botafogo defender Barboza tried to clear a pass and ended up passing it to Estêvão, who passed it to Flaco López at the edge of the box. The Palmeiras forward tried a lob shot and John made a great save.

Botafogo took advantage of the first chance that came their way, when Palmeiras seemed to be dominating the set. In the 12th minute, the Rio de Janeiro team benefited from a lack of attention from the São Paulo defense and after a great assist from Savarino, Igor Jesus only had to tap the ball into the back of the net. It was the second goal for the number 99 in the Libertadores, having also scored in the first leg.

Botafogo extended the lead in the 17th minute. After the first goal, Palmeiras made substitutions and launched an attack, but without any effectiveness. Meanwhile, Botafogo, with more calm and quality, made a great exchange of passes. Matheus Martins, who came on at half-time, found an excellent pass to Savarino, who came face to face with goalkeeper Weverton and with a powerful shot extended the lead and decided the classification for the team from Rio.

The sips of @Botafogo! Igor Jesús and Savarino scored for the quarterfinal classification of CONMEBOL #Libertadores. #EternalGlory | #PALxBOT pic.twitter.com/7T7WRZ8uVA

— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) August 22, 2024

_{Botafogo's goals in the match against Palmeiras (Reproduction/X/@Libertadores)}

With the unfavorable result and imminent elimination, Palmeiras continued to press with 10 outfield players in the attacking field at all times. Rony and Estêvão were the team's main offensive weapons and even came close to creating danger a few times, but with several balls crossed into the area and with low effectiveness.

In the 41st minute, from a free kick taken by Gabriel Menino, Flaco López rose higher than the entire Botafogo defense and headed the ball firmly to beat John and reduce the score at the Allianz.

At 43 minutes, after Palmeiras mounted a blitz in front of Botafogo's area and after a sequence of plays in the air, the ball fell to Rony alone inside the area who made no mistake and scored the equalizer, leaving a game that was practically decided, completely open.

In the 51st minute, Palmeiras once again threw the entire team into Botafogo's penalty area in search of a comeback. After a back and forth, Gabriel Menino took a shot, and the ball fell to Gustavo Gómez, who sent it into the back of the net, which would have been the winning goal for the São Paulo team. However, after a VAR review, the ball ended up hitting Gómez's hand and the referee correctly disallowed the move.

In the 54th minute, in the last play of the match, the referee awarded a free kick in the penalty area in favor of Palmeiras, with the injury time already up. Gabriel Menino took a skillful shot from the free kick and the ball ended up hitting goalkeeper John's post. Without a chance for a final attack, Palmeiras was eliminated from the competition.

In the next phase, Botafogo will face either São Paulo or Nacional from Uruguay. In the first leg, played in Uruguay, the teams ended in a 0-0 draw and a simple victory would qualify both teams.

Featured Photo: Igor Jesus celebrating the goal scored at Allianz (Reproduction/X/@LibertadoresBR)