Key events
95 min “Is it mayonnaise that makes the world go round?” says Joe Pearson. “I think it might be.”
Mayonnaise!
94 min Botafogo win a corner after a stunning piece of control from the teenager Montoro. That leads to another on the far side, the right. Correa swings it out towards the penalty spot and Igor Jesus, jumping backwards, heads well wide of the far post. Tough chance.
91 min Extra time is underway. Palmeiras have brought on Anibal Moreno for Emiliano Martinez in midfield.
“Though this match hasn’t exactly been rich in incident, you can palpably feel how much this means to the players and crowd,” says Kári Tulinius. “I’m hoping the winners meet Benfica, because the shared history of Portugal and Brazil will inevitably bring an edge. The puritan in me wants to not care about this tournament, but the romantic in me craves meaning.”
Meaning makes the world go round. It’s definitely a word that begins with M.
Full time: Palmeiras 0-0 Botafogo
One last corner for Palmeiras in normal time. John punches it away to complete an admirable defensive performance from Botafogo in normal time. Now both teams have to rouse themselves for another half hour.
90+4 min Paulinho leads a three-on-three break for Palmeiras. Newton recognises the, er, gravity of the situation and takes a yellow card for the team with a deliberate pull-back.
90+1 min Cuiabano charges forward menacingly from left-back, forcing the last Palmeiras defender (Gomez probably, Fuchs if not) to come across and make an important interception. A Botafogo winner would be a minor travesty.
90 min A promising Botafogo counter-attack is thwarted by the excellent Piquerez. They win the ball back so well, all over the field.
Five minutes of added time.
89 min “Getting on a Guardian MBM for a Botafogo match is a real treat,” says Peter Oh. “In the late 90s I was semi-obsessed with the legend of Garrincha. I had the chance to briefly visit Rio and picked up a Botafogo jersey from a street vendor. I still have it and it’s out today to bring luck to the cariocas.”
In that case I’m just glad you mentioned pigs and not goats.
88 min A driven pass out of defence is controlled nicely on the chest by Paulinho. The ball sits up invitingly, irresistibly, on the edge of the D – but he whacks his shot over the bar. A tricky chance, but a chance nonetheless.
87 min It’s been a one-sided game, but only really between the boxes – Flashscore have the xG at 1.09-0.13.
86 min Piquerez is booked for a late tackle, which means he won’t play in the quarter-final one way or another. That means three of their first-choice back four will be unavailable should they get there; Gustavo Gomez is also facing suspension and Murilo is injured.
A reminder that life is inherently futile the winners of this game will play Benfica or Chelsea.
85 min: Palmeiras substitution Facundo Torres replaces Mauricio. Feels like both teams are gearing up for extra time.
84 min “In response to Peter Oh’s porcine Palmeiras observation, it should be pointed out that Botafogo in Portuguese means ‘set it on fire’,” says Justin Kavanagh. “They’ve certainly not done that today, but maybe they’re just playing for penalties? The Botafogo plan could be to slow-roast this particular pig.”
Look, if you want a Sparklehorse song just ask for it, don’t keep prattling on about pigs and fresh fruit and M’s little elbows.
83 min: Double substitution for Botafogo Kaio and Newton replace Jair Cunha, who has been terrific in defence and is presumably shattered, and Danilo.
80 min Luighi’s shot from 22 yards is deflected over the bar for yet another corner. Botafogo are really hanging on.
79 min Botafogo’s right-back Vitinho, once of Burnley, gets a slight but crucial headed touch to divert a cross away from Paulinho at the far post. Botafogo’s defenders must be shattered, both mentally and physically.
78 min “To help understand why this is such a big game look at the run that Botafogo took to get here,” writes Guy Mortimer. “They won Serie A; they won Copa Libertadores – in the knock out stages they played Palmeiras, Sao Paulo and Athletico Mineiro plus earlier in the competition Red Bull Bragantino. Only the semi against Penarol (who they beat in the 1st leg 5-0) weren’t Brazilian. Seven of the eight Brazilian teams made the last 16 – Red Bull were knocked out by Botafogo. Most of their important games are against domestic rivals so any opportunity is welcome.”
And to win the league they had to exorcise an unprecedented late-season collapse in 2023.
77 min Play resumes in the hot hot Phildelphia heat.
75 min: Cooling break I don’t think there’s an official cooling break sponsor. Surely it’s an open goal for Ronseal Quick Drying Woodstain?
Very good save by John!
73 min Botafogo attack, which gives Palmeiras the chance to counter and find a bit of space. Piquerez’s cross from the left is slightly behind Mauricio at the near post; he improvises beautifully to steer a header that is tipped over acrobatically by John. That was a very good save, the best of the match so far.
71 min A substitution apiece.
71 min “Maybe the guy on the half-time footpath was just upset that you were trying to hide your simply intoxicating natural scent, Bob,” writes Mac Millings. “Masking those glorious pheromones is like wrapping a full red rose in a beige plastic bag.”
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70 min Another long-range effort from Savarino, his third of the day. He caught this one well but it was high over the bar.
68 min Paulinho has a shot blocked after cutting inside from the left. That’s their 13th attempt to Botafogo’s three. Botafogo are hanging on grimly for extra time, maybe penalties.
66 min: Double substitution for Botafogo Cuiabano and the teenager Alvaro Montoro come on for Alex Telles and Allan.
65 min Artur is booked for a tactical foul on Allan of Palmeiras.
63 min: Double substitution for Palmeiras Paulinho and Luighi replace Estevao and Mr Roque. It’s a hot day.
60 min: Chance for Palmeiras An up-and-under is punched away by John, but only as far as Mauricio 25 yards out. He chests the ball down and drives a left-foot shot that is comfortably saved by John.
In other news.
59 min It’s all Palmeiras now. A cross from the right is only half cleared, allowing Roque to throw himself into a scissor kick that hits the defender on the six-yard line.
57 min “With Palmeiras’ mascot being a pig and their playing style built around a robust defence,” says Peter Oh, and goodness knows where this is going, “you’ll forgive me for predicting that the team from São Paulo is bound to pork the bus.”
The pedant in me is obliged oint out that it’s Botafogo who have parked the bus, not Palmeiras. But the part of me that is still trying to enjoy life can’t resist such an amusingly absurd pun.
55 min This has been one of those games in which Team A is better in almost every department without creating any gilt-edged chances. It means the scoreline is simultaneously a) a scandal and b) kinda fair.
54 min Roque’s square ball to Estevao on the edge of the area is cut out. The ball comes back to Roque, whose drive is brilliantly blocked by the sliding Cunha (I think).
51 min “Igor Jesus has got to be a contender for best name of the tournament?!” says Kate. “Creates quite the mental image.”
The mind boggles.
50 min Estevao has a goal disallowed for offside. It was the right decision, though play was allowed to continue for a little while. Estevao’s first shot was deflected and saved by John. The ball came back to Estevao, at which point the flag went up for the earlier offside and the referee blew his whistle.
Estevao played on, hitting a follow-up that slithered under John and into the net. But it wouldn’t have counted even if he had been onside when he received the ball.
49 min At the other end, Savarino’s long-range shot is comfortably held by Weverton.
48 min On reflection, Estevao’s curler, well struck though it was, wouldn’t have gone right in the corner and it was a relatively comfortable save for John.
John.
47 min: Fine save by John! Palmeiras win the ball high up the field for the umpteenth time. Allan feeds an early pass into Estevao on the edge of the D; he takes a touch and whacks a curling shot towards the bottom corner. John dives top his right to push it behind. That’s the best save of the game to date.
47 min “So ADHD, ASD and now an admitted sociopath,” begins Geoff Wignall. “If you could only rid yourself of that inner empath, a career in politics could be yours (but ditch the sense of irony or concern for fair play, too).”
I’d certainly shake up PMQs. Mr Speaker, please could you ask the honourable gentleman whether he can name the XI that started the Italia 90 group game against Egypt. And if not, does he really think he is fit to run this country?
46 min No substitutions on either side as Botafogo begin the second half. Palmeiras win the ball and Roque shoots over from distance within 20 seconds.
“As a Brazilian who has lived in the UK for many years, I find all the Europeans commenting on the futility and uselessness of covering this fixture extremely comical, if not absurd,” writes Marcos. “I don’t care about any amount of fixtures that are covered by MBMs on this publication (for example, something like Man United vs. Colchester in the FA Cup), but I don’t complain about it, because I understand that there are indeed many people who do care and who will read it and enjoy it. That is the nature of journalism.
“In Brazil this fixture is absolutely massive. Right now I’m with family, all dressed up in our vibrant green kits, most from the previous century. Europeans don’t understand the gravitas that the Club World Cup has in South America. Yes, it’s a money-spinning attraction invented by Gianni. But this competition is judged to be one of the most important competitions a club can win, so much so that Palmeiras fans regularly get criticised for failing to win one (amidst constant debate on whether the 1951 Copa Rio counts: Palmeiras fans think it does, the rest think it doesn’t).
I won’t go on about the Eurocentric bias in football or the way that Europeans genuinely look down on football from other leagues, but I will say that watching Flamengo put three past Chelsea and seeing all the Englishmen wildly try to invent excuses to justify it made me smile.”
It does feel like modern society has become aggressively intolerant of just about everything. Last night – this isn’t a joke – some guy had a go at me for spraying deodorant. I deliberately did it away from the footpath, so that it wouldn’t impact anyone else’s snout, but the mere sight of a devastatingly handsome quadragenarian attending to his body odour was too much for the guy.
Half-time reading
Leander did work experience in the London office many moons ago. It was obvious even then that he could make it, and it’s great to see him doing – and writing – so well.
Half time: Palmeiras 0-0 Botafogo
A scrappy, goalless first half in Philadelphia. Palmeiras were the better team, with and without the ball, but it has hardly been an xGfest: 0.51-0.07 according to Flashscore.
We might need an Expected Red Cards algorithm at some stage – three players were bookeds, but it could easily have been at least twice that.
Just over from Rios!
45+5 min That was a lovely effort. He received a square pass 22 yards from goal, pushed it forward with his first touch and whipped a fierce shot that brushed the roof of the net.
Did the Botafogo keeper John get a touch? A corner has been given; I think, on reflection, that it took a nick off a defender.
45+3 min Mauricio almost puts Estevao through on goal with a sharp angled pass, but the Botafogo centre-back Cunha is well positioned and makes a vital interception on the edge of the area.
45 min Six minutes of added time to be played. A lovely move down the right from Botafogo ends with Vitinho’s cutback being turned behind for a corner by Piquerez.
43 min Freitas barrels through the inside-right channel, benefits from a couple of ricochets and suddenly finds himself in the penalty area. It’s not his natural habitat and he drags a cross-shot tamely across goal.
42 min Rios turns elegantly away from Freitas, who isn’t having that and sends him flying. A cynical foul, surely worthy of a yellow card; the referee disagrees.
39 min Gomez wipes out Allan (Botafogo) with a wretched tackle. The referee plays the advantage and eventually goes back to book Gomez, who has the effrontery to wag his finger righteously in the referee’s face.
Gomez will miss the quarter-final if Palmeiras get there.
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