Botafogo beat Mirassol 3-2, on Wednesday night (1), at the Nilton Santos Stadium, in a match valid for the ninth round of the Brasileirão 2026.
Glorioso opened the scoring in the 10th minute with Arthur Cabral, who hit a beautiful shot into the corner after an assist from Edenílson.
Mirassol’s response came quickly and, in the 20th minute, Shaylon tied the match with a great goal from outside the area, following a corner kick.
Júnior Santos disenchanted around Botafogo
Still in the first half, at 40 minutes, referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio, after consulting the VAR, awarded a penalty for Botafogo. During the move, Walter knocked down Cristian Medina in the area.
Alex Telles took responsibility and converted the kick in the 42nd minute, displacing the opposing goalkeeper and putting the Rio team back in front.
In the second half, Júnior Santos increased the score to 3-1 in the 21st minute, taking advantage of a defensive error by Willian Machado to finish with precision. Loaned by Atlético-MG, he scored for the first time on his return to Botafogo.
Leão Caipira reduced the deficit in stoppage time with Igor Formiga, who headed firmly after a corner kick by Gabriel Pires, in the 47th minute of the second half.
Game numbers at Nilton Santos
Botafogo had 11 shots on goal, six of which were in the right direction, while Mirassol had 17 shots, with only four on target.
Ball possession fell to the visiting side, with Mirassol controlling 58% of the actions against 42% for Botafogo.
The team led by presented greater offensive efficiency, converting three of its six successful shots into goals.
Rafael Guanaes’ team, despite a greater volume of play, failed to shoot well, making just four of their 17 attempts.
Botafogo leaves Z4; Mirassol expands crisis
With the positive result, Botafogo moves up to 12th place in the table, moving up five places and now adding nine points in nine games played.
Mirassol remains in the relegation zone, occupying 19th place with just six points won, the result of one victory, three draws and now four defeats. The only triumph was in the first round, against Vasco.
In the next round, Botafogo will have a classic against Vasco itself to try to maintain the momentum and move away from the dangerous zone of the table once and for all, while Mirassol needs to react quickly to escape the Z-4, hosting Red Bull Bragantino.
(published by Luccas Oliveira)
