So close: Botafogo beat Cienciano but bow out of Copa Sudamericana

Botafogo beat Cienciano 1-0 on Thursday, August 20, at Nilton Santos Stadium in the second leg of their Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 tie. Danilo Pereira scored the only goal, but the result was not enough to overturn the 6-1 defeat in Cusco. The Peruvian side advanced 6-2 on aggregate.

Score and goal

Botafogo opened the scoring in the seventh minute of the first half. Álvaro Montoro took a quick free kick inside his own half and released Danilo Pereira into space. The forward controlled the ball, rounded goalkeeper Ítalo Espinoza and finished into the empty net. It was Danilo Pereira’s first goal for Botafogo. After scoring early, the home side still needed four more goals to force a penalty shootout but could not extend their lead.

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Key moments

Botafogo created opportunities to add to their lead before the interval. In the 14th minute, Arthur Cabral met a pass from Vitinho but sent his effort wide. Ten minutes later, Danilo Pereira lifted the ball over the goalkeeper, Arthur Cabral failed to make contact and the Peruvian defence cleared almost on the goal line. Danilo put the ball in the net in the 36th minute but handled it in the process. After reviewing the incident at the pitchside monitor, the referee disallowed the goal. In first-half stoppage time, Warleson suffered a cut to his chin in a collision with Alejandro Hohberg. The goalkeeper left the pitch bleeding and was replaced by Gabriel Batista.

VAR changes second-half decisions

Early in the second half, the referee awarded a penalty for a challenge on Alex Telles. Following another review, however, he identified a foul by Vitinho earlier in the move and overturned the decision. In stoppage time, Nahuel Ferraresi was shown a red card. VAR recommended a review, and the punishment was reduced to a yellow card.

Montoro stood out; Danilo got everything wrong

Álvaro Montoro was Botafogo’s best player. He provided the assist for Danilo Pereira’s goal, created further opportunities and was the main source of urgency against Cienciano’s deep defence. Danilo, by contrast, got everything wrong and also had a goal correctly ruled out for handball. The midfielder was jeered at Nilton Santos Stadium and could not provide the accuracy required in a match in which every attack needed to produce a clear chance.

Match facts

The match marked interim coach Rodrigo Bellão’s first game in charge of the senior side. He took over following Franclim Carvalho’s dismissal. The attendance at Nilton Santos Stadium was 22,408. A reliable gate revenue figure had not been found when this article was published. A confrontation involving players broke out on the pitch after the final whistle. Cienciano will face Montevideo City Torque in the quarter-finals.

What is next

After exiting the Copa Sudamericana, Botafogo return to action on Monday, August 24, at 8 pm local time against Athletico-PR at Nilton Santos Stadium in Round 24 of the Brazilian Serie A.