The knockout stages of the Club World Cup open with a 100 % Brazilian poster between Palmeiras and Botafogo. With its first place in the group phase, the Verdão arrives with ambition and serenity, having managed to conquer the first place of group A before Inter Miami, Porto and the Egyptian club of Al-Ahli. Opposite, Botafogo, second behind PSG but in front of Atlético Madrid, showed that he knew how to respond to the big teams. On the composition side, Palmeiras appears in 4-2-3-1 with Giay aligned on the right, an Allan-Martinez solid medium, and the Estevão nugget on the wing. Botafogo, faithful to its 4-3-3, prefers Danilo Barbosa to Montoro in the midfield.
The meeting took a little time to get carried away, but Palmeiras offered a very hot first situation. On a powerful center of Piquerez in front of the goal, Vitor Roque threw himself to conclude, but Barboza arose in extremis to dismiss the danger (10th). In the process, Igor Jesus was targeted by Artur in the area, but jostled by the regular by a defender, the center-forward lost the ball without obtaining a sanction (14th). A minute later, Vitor Roque collapsed in the area after contact, but referee François Letexier chose not to grant a penalty (15th).
A rough end of the match
The end of the first period proved to be relatively calm, apart from two notable actions. In the 44th minute, Marlon Freitas signed a beautiful solo number to sneak in the surface, but his strike, too crossed, escaped the frame. In additional time, Richard Rios ignited the stadium with an overpowered distant attempt: his splendid strike came close to the transversal (45th+5). Upon returning from the locker room, Botafogo experienced a difficult second period, put under pressure by the found intensity of Palmeiras. From the first minutes, Estevão, Allan and Savarino chained the rapid and incisive movements, undermining the opposing defensive block (47th, 48th, 50th). Vitor Roque then attempted an acrobatic gesture while the ball pulled out in the surface of Botafogo, but his attempt was countered by a defender (59th).
Shortly after, John Victor still made a beautiful stop by postponing a Mauricio head which was heading for the skylight. The ball was released in a corner, offering a new opportunity in Palmeiras (73rd). Lughi, returned to Estevao's place a few minutes earlier, tried his luck at the entrance to the surface, but his shot was well blocked (80th). The regulation time did not finally give a winner. The match therefore played during extra time. Palmeiras opened the scoring thanks to a remarkable individual action by Paulinho on the right side, which dribbled his opponent before unchecking a powerful and low left strike. The balloon slipped to the ground to the nets, leaving John without reaction (100th, 1-0). Reduced to ten after the expulsion of Gustavo Gómez in overtime, Palmeiras still torn off the victory against Botafogo. The club will thus meet the winner of the match between Benfica and Chelsea, on July 5 in Philadelphia.
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