The Botafogo, coached by Portuguese manager Artur Jorge, eliminated Palmeiras from the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday night, a competition in which the São Paulo team were champions with Abel Ferreira in 2020 and 2021.
In a match of the main South American club tournament, in a duel between Portuguese coaches, Artur Jorge came out on top, with Botafogo securing a place in the quarter-finals after winning at home (2-1) and drawing on Wednesday in São Paulo (2-2).
The ‘fogão’ was even ahead 2-0, but Palmeiras equalized through Flaco Lopez and Rony, in the 86th and 90th minutes, respectively.
In stoppage time, Abel Ferreira’s team scored again through Gustavo Gómez, but the play was disallowed for handball after consultation with the video assistant referee.
“The rules are clear; when it hits the hand before the scorer makes the goal, it has to be cancelled. We have to accept it; we’re out of the Brazil Cup against Flamengo, we are out of the Libertadores against Botafogo, now we will fight until the end for the objective that remains for us this year [Brazilian championship],” admitted Abel Ferreira at the end.
The Portuguese coach acknowledged that August was not good for the ‘verdão’, but that the team walks away with their heads held high.
On the Botafogo side, which is also the leader of the Brasileirão, with one more point and one game than Fortaleza, Artur Jorge felt that the Cariocas were superior in both matches, although he lamented that the team conceded two goals at the end.
“The last five minutes were crazy, which took away our chance to win both matches, which is what we wanted. We are still annoyed because we came to win, and that is what we wanted. We managed to maintain the draw, which allowed us to continue in the competition as we wanted,” pointed out the coach.