After the 3-1 victory over Palmeiras that guaranteed the resumption of the top spot in the Brazilian Championship with two rounds to go, on Tuesday night (26), Botafogo players celebrated the mental aspect of the team after the recent stumbles. Alviverde athletes criticized the work of the refereeing.
“Very happy for the victory, for the three points. This shows that we were never shaken,” said striker Igor Jesus.
Botafogo was coming off draws with Cuiabá, Atlético Mineiro and Vitória, in a sequence that had cost it the lead in the previous round and brought to light the concern of a possible repeat of 2023, when the black and white team lost its production in the final stretch of the competition and was surpassed by Palmeiras.
The Brazilian national team player praised teamwork and planned the next steps, with the Copa Libertadores final against Atlético-MG, on Saturday (30), in Buenos Aires.
“We stand firm. Every day, mentally, with everyone supporting each other. And today, here, against Palmeiras, we achieved a very important victory. We have to keep our feet on the ground so that we can continue fighting. We are in the final of the Libertadores, we have to think about it and then go back to thinking about the Brazilian Championship, which is also a very important championship”, said Jesus.
Gustavo Gómez, captain of Palmeiras, regretted the opportunities wasted by the team and harshly criticized the work of referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio.
“I think we started the game very well. We created chances to score. We were not effective. They scored a goal from a corner that we thought was inside [do campo] which wasn’t”, said the Paraguayan defender, in reference to Botafogo’s first goal, which came after a corner that was highly contested by the Palmeiras fans.
“The referee is FIFA, we think he’s the best, but he’s always been against us for a long time. I don’t like to complain, but he, as a FIFA referee, has to train, improve. His last games were very weak. He We have to evolve, work. We all make mistakes, but Sampaio is getting worse and worse”, said Gómez.
“We were looking for the opponent’s goal all the time, but it didn’t happen. We still have two games, we will work to try to win and see what happens”, added the captain.
In the last two rounds, Palmeiras will visit Cruzeiro and end their participation in the Brazilian Championship by hosting Fluminense, on the 8th. Botafogo will visit Internacional and play next with São Paulo, at Nilton Santos.
Botafogo has 73 points, against 70 for Palmeiras.
