Paulinho worked his way between a pair of defenders and rolled a shot into the back of the net in extra time Saturday to put Palmeiras into the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Brazilian league rival Botafogo.
Paulinho, who has made one appearance for Brazil’s national team, dribbled through the defense with an inside cut from the right wing in the 100th minute. He then sent a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of John’s net.
Botafogo created multiple chances for an equalizer in the final minutes but couldn’t get a goal.
The match at Lincoln Financial Field was full of attacking football with a combined 35 shot attempts. Palmeiras, however, ended the match with 10 men after defender Gustavo Gomez was given a red card.
Gomez received a second yellow card in the 116th minute after tackling Igor Jesus in midfield to prevent Botafogo from starting a counterattack.
The 33,657 fans in attendance helped set the tone for the match with incessant cheering, bringing the flavor of a South American game to the United States.
Key moment
Paulinho's goal in extra time broke the scoreless draw and gave Palmeiras the win and a spot in the quarterfinals against either Benfica or Chelsea.
Takeaways
Palmeiras is the first team to reach the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup. The team will return to Philadelphia to face the winner of Friday's match between Benfica and Chelsea. Botafogo, the current Copa Libertadores champion, has been eliminated from the tournament.
What they said
“Coach has been saying this since the start of the season, that we have a dream and dreaming costs nothing. We follow that dream, one game after another. Always thinking about the present, about the next game ... We’re very happy, we’re pleased to have qualified, and as I said, we have to keep dreaming.” — Palmeiras defender Bruno Fuchs.
"We leave with our head held high. We faced teams of a high level, the highest level in soccer. We were able to represent well Botafogo, Botafogo’s shirt. Of course, we wanted to go further and we prepared to go further, but things don’t always go the way we want them to.” — Botafogo defender Vitinho.
