Botafogo defeated Fortaleza 2-0 at home and returned to the top of the Brasileirão. The two goals in the match between the top two teams were scored by Igor Jesus, one of the reinforcements in the last transfer window.
The 23-year-old attacker, who was trained at Coritiba and previously played for Shabab Al-Ahli in the United Arab Emirates, opened the scoring in the 73rd minute with a crossed right-footed shot inside the area after skillfully controlling a long pass. In stoppage time, he doubled the lead after finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
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In his celebrations, the forward performed the Kamehameha gesture, the most famous combat technique from the Japanese animated series Dragon Ball. He had previously done that celebration, including after his goal in the 4-1 rout against Flamengo, making it his signature move.
In an interview with the portal ge, given three days after the victory against Flamengo, Igor Jesus explained how the idea came about: “I was sitting on the couch and it occurred to me. I suddenly got up, my wife was sitting in the armchair and I said to her, ‘Honey, the next goal I score, I’m going to do it like Goku.’”
“Then I stood in front of her and said ‘aahhhh.’ She said, ‘What is that? You’ll see at Niltão (Nilton Santos Stadium, home of Botafogo) when I do it, the fans will all come with me.’ And she said, ‘That’s not going to look good.’ Then she saw it in the stadium and the first thing she said when she got home was, ‘The whole crowd followed you.’”
His goals allowed the Carioca team to secure the lead once the 25th round concludes. The team now has two points more than Fortaleza, although Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s side has a pending match against Internacional from Porto Alegre.