Botafogo vs PSG: Brazil Remains Undefeated

Botafogo, a Brazilian team, just beat the UEFA Champions League winners, Paris Saint-Germain. 

This game is monumental for Brazil. In a match where Botafogo were the massive underdogs, they came out and prevailed against the best team in the world. 

Initially, PSG came out with fire. They were great at dictating the tempo of the game, and overall had 75% possession throughout the game, leaving Botafogo with only 25% of the ball. But it would be Botafogo to capitalize on their possession of the ball. After winning the ball in midfield, Savarino passes the ball to Igor Jesus, and does well to keep the ball while running towards the goal. He got the best of Beraldo and Pacho both and scored a beautiful goal, and the only goal of the game.

This goal was so monumental in my opinion. It showed that the South American teams truly are a serious competition and should not be toyed with or thought of as less. Igor Jesus has been linked to a lot of European clubs, with Nottingham Forest being the biggest link, and this will only help boost interest in him. His style of play is very unique, and he has the qualities of a great #9. In my opinion, he should start getting more attention when talking about the Brazil squads, as he is becoming a great option in front of the world. Botafogo’s goalie John Victor also had a huge game, making 2 huge saves to keep them in the game. Had PSG scored once, they would have come back easily. John Victor and the rest of the defense were all superb and truly played their hearts out. 

A quick word on centerback Jair Cunha from me. What a player. He is so dominant and tall at such a young age, I would not be surprised if he becomes the next big name to come out of Brazil. He and Barbosa both were immense today. The amount of clearances these two had was so important to the match. Without these defenders, there was no way Botafogo would have won. Nottingham Forest is also heavily rumored to sign Jair Cunha, but any club that does sign Cunha has a centerback that can play for the next 10 years. He is that good.

PSG played their game but could not break down Botafogo’s defense. The plan was not to outplay PSG; it was to defend and capitalize on the chance that would come, and they did just that. I think Vitinha and Neves were both great today, but other than those two, it was just average from everyone else.

Botafogo, the current Libertadores winners, beat the current UCL winners in PSG. This is a match that will go down in the history of the Club World Cup.