Botafogo beat Fluminense 1-0, became the provisional leader of the Brasileirão and deepened the crisis of the team led by Fernando Diniz. Angolan Bastos was the author of the only goal in one of the four matches that opened the 8th round.
The Carioca derby was played at the Nilton Santos stadium and exposed the different moments experienced by both teams. Botafogo has been on the rise since the arrival of Artur Jorge as coach, while Fluminense has not found its way and could end the round in the relegation zone.
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The victory allowed Botafogo to reach 16 points and take the lead, although there are several teams that can catch up or surpass them as the round continues on Thursday. Flamengo, Bahia, São Paulo and Athletico Paranaense are on the lookout.
Another team that got closer to the top is Atlético Mineiro, after winning 2-1 away against Bragantino. Lucas Evangelista opened the scoring for the São Paulo team with a shot from outside the area, but before the end of the first half, the team led by Gabriel Milito turned it around with goals from Matías Zaracho and Paulinho.
The situation of Corinthians is different, as they have gone four games in a row without a win. In their visit to Atlético Goianiense, it seemed they were going to break the streak after taking a 2-0 lead with two goals from Yuri Alberto, but the home team equalized through Cacá (own goal) and Shaylon, through a penalty in stoppage time.
At the beginning of the 8th round, the bottom team Vitória also played, the only team that has not won a single match so far in the championship, although at least they earned a point in their visit to Juventude. Rodrigo Sam opened the scoring for the home team, and Willian decided the tie.
There will be no action today due to Brazil’s friendly match against the United States, and the ball will roll again tomorrow with several interesting matches. The clash between Flamengo and Grêmio, Internacional against São Paulo, and the Northeast classic between Bahia and Fortaleza stand out.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Watch the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
