Botafogo won 2-1 against Liga de Quito in Rio de Janeiro in Group D of the Copa Libertadores and confirmed its improvement since the arrival of Artur Jorge on the bench. Although the story ended with this victory that puts the Brazilians for the first time in the qualifying zone for the round of 16, the duel began with a controversy that the Ecuadorians still claim.
The match was 0-0 when a header from Alex Arce hit the post and after a series of rebounds, it was Estrada, with a backheel, who put the ball into the goal. Liga de Quito celebrated that opening of the scoreboard, although the VAR called the referee and that’s where the suspense began.
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In total there were 10 minutes of paralysis, with the Argentine referee Darío Herrera consulting the monitor. The resolution: annulment of the goal due to a millimeter offside by Estrada.
¡EXTENSA REVISIÓN Y SE SALVÓ EL FOGAO! El VAR analizó y terminó por anular el golazo de taco de Michael Estrada para Liga de Quito.
▶️ No te pierdas la 🏆 CONMEBOL #Libertadores en #StarPlusLA. pic.twitter.com/NbSnpmb249
— ESPN Ecuador (@ESPNEcuador) May 9, 2024
On top of that, Botafogo’s reaction was immediate. In the first subsequent play, Luiz Henrique crossed and Hugo made it 1-0. Estrada scored the temporary tie, this time it was validated, and Júnior Santos converted the 2-1 that gave definitive figures to the victory of the Rio team.
🪄🧙♂️ ¡La pegada mágica de Júnior Santos para la segunda victoria de @Botafogo 🇧🇷 en la CONMEBOL #Libertadores 🏆!#LaMagiaDeVerdad @CocaCola_Br pic.twitter.com/sJ6fL6ohbH
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) May 9, 2024
The group was very tight with Junior (Colombia) in front with six points, the same amount as Botafogo, now in second place. Universitario (Peru) is third with 5 units and Liga de Quito is bottom with 4.
Quito League will request the VAR audios
Angry at the defeat and the controversial play, the coach of the Ecuadorian team, Adrián Gabbarini, anticipated that they will take action. “We don’t understand why the referee went to see the play on the VAR if it was offside. It is the first time that a referee is going to see an offside when they only have to draw the lines. They lost about 10 minutes,” he said.
“Publicly, we are going to request the VAR audios to know what was whistled,” the coach anticipated.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the first four episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
