Botafogo breaks the historic mark of San Paolo in the Libertadores

In 20 knockout matches decided at home against Libertadores throughout São Paulo’s history, the São Paulo club has won 16 league tables and recorded four eliminations. However, the times they did not progress to the next stage they lost their first match away from home: Vélez Sarsfield (in 1994), Cruzeiro (2009), Internacional (2010) and Talleres (2019). In other words, this was the first time that the Tricolore was eliminated playing at home without losing in the first match.

Botafogo and Sao Paulo were forced to a goalless draw at Nilton Santos in the first leg. In other words, whoever won in the second round would advance and a new draw would lead to the decision on penalties. And this is what happened. Thiago Almada opened the scoring for Alvinegro in the first half and, almost at the end, Calleri equalised. Thus, with the decision on penalties, the Rio club managed to advance and beat the historical record of the opponent.

Seeking an unprecedented title in the competition, Botafogo now awaits its opponent in the semi-finals. Peñarol and Flamengo define the square this Thursday (26). In the first match, the Uruguayan team won 1-0 at Maracanã.