Botafogo came up behind on the scoreboard, but achieved a 3-1 victory against Caracas this Wednesday, at the end of the group stage of Sul-Americana, at Venezuela. With the result, the Rio club secured the best overall campaign of the tournament and guaranteed that all knockout games will be played at home, at the Nilton Santos stadium. La Mantía opened the scoring for the hosts, while Chris Ramos, Kauan Toledo and Joaquín Correa scored for Botafogo.
Botafogo suffers, but reacts in the second half
Botafogo dominated possession in the first half, but found it difficult to convert their opportunities into goals. Barrera had the best black chance inside the area and shot over. Caracas took advantage of their opportunity in the 35th minute when La Mantía positioned themselves better than Chris Ramos and headed in to open the scoring after a free kick from Covea.
The black and white reaction came in the complementary stage. Chris Ramos equalized 15 minutes into the second half, finishing after a beautiful assist from Joaquín Correa. Coach Franclim Carvalho made changes to the team that helped unlock the game. Pouco later, Kauan Toledo took advantage of Tucu Correa’s pass and put Botafogo in front. Nos added time, Joaquín Correa received a return from the young baseman and closed the score at 3-1.
Botafogo completes group stage with 16 points
Venezuela’s performance consolidated Botafogo’s hegemony in the group stage. The Rio club scored 16 points out of a possible 18, the best campaign among all teams in the competition. Essa advantage offers significant structural privilege: Botafogo will play all round of 16 clashes at home, in Rio of Janeiro.
The performances that stood out were:
- Joaquín Correa: goal and decisive assist
- Kauan Toledo: two goals in a sequence of minutes
- Chris Ramos: equalizing goal and offensive movement
- Tutú Correa: assists in the second half
- Franclim Carvalho: substitutions that changed the game
Próximos appointments defined
The draw for the round of 16 of Sul-Americana takes place this Friday at 12pm, when Botafogo will meet their opponent. Caracas will wait for the result of the Libertadores group stage to define their duels in the play-offs.
Antes returns to Brasil, Botafogo goes straight to Salvador. The club faces Bahia on Sunday at 5:30 pm (Brasília time), in the last game before the break for Copa from Mundo. The black and white delegation left Venezuela with the guarantee of structural comfort for the next stage of the South American tournament.