Botafogo and Palmeiras are tied in the race for the leadership of the Betano Brazilian Championship. The two teams won their matches in the 16th round and intensified the dispute. Glorioso beat Vitória 1-0 at Barradão, while the São Paulo Alviverde beat Atlético-GO 3-1 at Allianz Parque. They will face each other in the next round of the Brazilian football elite, at the home of the Rio de Janeiro team.
The duo are ahead, but not far from Flamengo and Bahia. With 31 points, the Carioca Rubro-Negro is in third place and was defeated by Fortaleza 2-1 at Maracanã. The Esquadrão de Aço, who added 30 points, beat Athletico-PR 3-1 at Ligga Arena.
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With 27 and 26 points, São Paulo and Cruzeiro, respectively, aim for the top positions. The São Paulo Tricolor lost to Atlético-MG 2-1 at Arena MRV. Cruzeiro, in turn, beat Grêmio 2-0 at Centenário.
On the rise, Vasco received Corinthians at São Januário and applied a 2-0 defeat. Fluminense, in the fight to get out of the relegation zone, snatched a 1-1 draw against Criciúma at Heriberto Hulse.
The Cuiabá x Juventude and Red Bull Bragantino x Internacional matches were postponed due to the first leg match between the Rio Grande do Sul teams in the third phase of the Betano Brazil Cup.
Next round
The 17th round of the Betano Brazilian Championship starts in the afternoon of this Saturday (13), with two matches. Both start at 4pm. At Arena Fonte Nova, Bahia seeks victory against Cuiabá to remain in the fight for the top positions, while Cruzeiro, at Independência, wants the three points against Red Bull Bragantino.
The championship returns on Tuesday night (16). At 7pm, Juventude faces Atlético-MG at Mané Garrincha and, at 9pm, Corinthians and Cruzeiro take the field at Neo Química Arena.
On Wednesday (17), there will be four more matches: Atlético-GO x Vasco, at 7pm, at Antônio Accioly; São Paulo x Grêmio, at 8pm, at MorumBIS; Botafogo x Palmeiras, at 9:30pm, at Nilton Santos; and Fortaleza x Vitória, at 9:30pm, at Arena Castelão.
The Internacional x Flamengo and Fluminense x Athletico-PR matches were also postponed due to the return matches of the Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná teams in the third phase of the Betano Brazil Cup this weekend.
