Botafogo beats Flu and leads Serie A for another round

Saturday’s round of the Brazilian Championship reserved chances of changes at the top of the table with regional classics, but ended with the first two positions unchanged. Botafogo beat Fluminense at Estádio Nilton Santos, by 1 to 0, and not only maintained first place but extended the lead to three points. The greater gap in the leadership was due to the tie between Santos and Palmeiras in Vila Belmiro, by 0 to 0, which took Verdão to 15 points, while Glorioso has 18. Argentine Victor Cuesta was the author of the winning goal for Alvinegro in Rio de Janeiro at home. Coming off two consecutive defeats after a streak of 15 games without being beaten, Botafogo had considerable fan support at Nilton Santos. The 24,000 present at the stadium witnessed a Fluminense with predominance in possession of the ball, but who did not finish much in the opponent’s goal. Botafogo tried much harder and was awarded in the 29th minute of the second half. After a submission by Junior Santos that generated a great save by Fábio, from a corner kick, Victor Cuesta took advantage of the confusion and finished, on the ground, to score the goal of the match. In the final minutes, Lelê passed goalkeeper Lucas Perri and had a great chance to equalize, but ended up kicking it out. Botafogo reached their sixth victory in seven games and, due to the tie-breaking criteria (greater number of victories), they will continue as leaders not only until the end of the seventh round, but also the eighth round, even in case of defeat in the next match, against América, at home, on Sunday (28). Before that, Glorioso will visit César Vallejo, from Peru, on Thursday (25), for the Copa Sudamericana. Fluminense, which would have taken the lead in case of victory, stopped at 13 points, momentarily in third place. Tricolor returns to the field on Thursday for the Copa Libertadores, when they visit The Strongest, in La Paz. For the Brazilian, Fernando Diniz’s team takes the field again on Sunday, when they face Corinthians in São Paulo. Santos and Palmeiras do not start from scratch Palmeiras had the chance to keep a distance of one point from the leader Botafogo, but starred in a classic of few emotions with Santos, in Vila Belmiro. The teams were 0-0 in a warm game. As a consolation for Alviverde, the team remained the only undefeated in the competition, with 15 points from four wins and three draws in seven rounds. Atlético turns on Coxa and climbs the table Galo, who started the championship with stumbles, reached his third consecutive victory in the Brasileirão by beating Coritiba, away from home, by 2-1. In the first half, Robson took a penalty and opened the scoring for the hosts at Couto Pereira. Still in the first half, Hyoran deflected a free kick with his head and equalized. In the final stretch of the game, Hulk, also from the penalty spot, gave Atlético the victory. São Paulo beats Vasco At Morumbi, São Paulo and Vasco played the busiest game of the night. São Paulo opened two goals ahead in the first half, with Calleri and Rodrigo Nestor. Barros scored a header before the break. The match had more emotions in the final stretch of the second stage. Galarza equalized in the 37th minute and, in the final minutes, São Paulo broke the tie and killed the game with goals from Beraldo, at the 44th minute and Juan, at the 47th minute: 4 to 2. Bragantino recovers In Bragança Paulista, Bragantino managed to end a sequence six games without a win, adding up all competitions. Massa Bruta received Athletico Paranaense and won 2-0, with a goal in each half. Eduardo Sasha opened the scoring in the first half and Thiago Borbas, in the final minutes, scored the second goal for the hosts at Estádio Nabi Abi Chedid. America, finally, wins the first America and Fortaleza entered the field at Estádio Independência in opposite situations on the table: Coelho without victories and Leão without defeats. However, at the end of the 90 minutes, both sequences came to an end. América managed the triumph with goals from Breno and Felipe Azevedo, while Pochettino scored for the team from Ceará. Classics on Sunday This Sunday, two more duels of great rivalry continue the round. Flamengo receives Corinthians, in Maracanã, while Grêmio will be the host against its centenary enemy, Internacional, in Gre-Nal played at Arena do Grêmio. Cruzeiro and Cuiabá close the round on Monday (22), at Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte.

Agência Brasil