Palmeiras 1–0 Botafogo Player Ratings: Paulinho’s Extra Time Brilliance Delivers Palmeiras a Quarter Final Spot in the Club World Cup

The Brazilian powerhouses Palmeiras and Botafogo clashed against each other for the Round of 16 match of the Club World Cup, where Palmeiras emerged victorious. Paulinho's brilliance earned Palmeiras a spot in the quarter-finals.

Palmeiras got the ball rolling, and it was pretty evident that they had an offensive approach. They pressed, won balls in the midfield, and attacked from both the centre and the wings. They came very close to scoring during multiple instances, but somewhere down in the attacking third, it felt like there was an invisible barrier that stopped them from registering goals. Everything felt fine until it came to finishing. On the other hand, Boafogo were pretty happy with Palmeiras having the ball and they did not bother the opponents from having possession. Moreover, they were unable to offer anything close to attacking and this was a confidence booster for the men in green. In the final minutes of the half, Botafogo slowly started to get a grip on the game and started to make some attacks, but the defence stood strong. The half ended goalless with Palmeiras dominating and Botafogo showing real signs of life just ahead of the break. Let's take a look at the Palmeiras vs Botafogo stats.

In the second half, both teams equally attacked and Botafogo were seen having an upper edge in the moves. Their defence was also a bit more reinforced than in the first half. The half remained both interesting and boring at the same time, and no goals were scored.

During the extra time, Paulinho received the ball from Rios and made a run from the right towards the goal and took a shot to score the winner for his team. From this moment, though Botafogo went for an all-out attack, it was desperately defended by the opponents and after extra time, the score was 1-0 in favour of Palmeiras, sealing them the quarter-final spot. The Botafogo vs Palmeiras referee ended the game after a long 120 minutes of play. Here are the Palmeiras vs Botafogo Player Ratings.

Palmeiras Player Ratings

Here are the Palmeiras Player Ratings.

Goalkeeper

Weverton - 6/10

The keeper did not have much to do in the match as his defence stood strong. Had just a few countable saves, and all the remaining involvements were just routine catches and clearances.

Defenders

Agustin Giay - 5.5/10

Giay was one of the worst performers for Palmeiras. The defender had zero clearances, tackles, or interceptions for the vast majority of the match. He was bad at duels. Positioned himself in the midfield, where he attempted to dribble past the opponents and was unsuccessful almost every time.

Gustavo Gomez - 5/10

The captain made some good interceptions in the midfield and provided some key passes into the attack. He was a bit careless during some instances, and in one moment, Gomez gave a hefty whack to the opponent's shin, which gave him an unwanted yellow card. In the additional time, yet another stupid decision of the player gave him the second booking and a sending off.

Bruno Fuchs - 7/10

Fuchs was seen both in the attack and the defence. In the attack, he attempted some shots, which though did not find the target, helped to shift the early momentum towards Palmeiras. Teamed up with Piquerez and had a good role in numbing the attempts made in the flanks.

Joaquin Piquerez- 7/10

Moved forward on the pitch and contributed very well in the attack. Slided in an elegant cross which was destined to be a goal, however, Roque wasn't able to get enough on it. In the 24th minute, the player made a stunning sliding tackle to stop a counterattack, which could have been troublesome.

Midfielders

Allan - 7/10

Has an excellent game. Was one of the key figures on the right and added up the work for Tellas. Allan was involved in around a dozen duels, and he won a good share of them. Won fouls in the attacking half and was successful in mounting pressure upon the opponents, and had a good role in keeping Botafogo silent in the first half.

Richard Rios - 7.7/10

Richard was the player who came forward and showed the courage to attack initially. The player, with his moves, won fouls in dangerous locations and even put opponents in the referee's book. Just ahead of the break, he took a brilliant shot from outside the box, which missed the goal by millimeters. In the extra time, he provided the assist to win the match for his team.

Emiliano Martinez - 6/10

Martinez was seen everywhere on the pitch with equal contributions both in the attack and defence. Though his performance was not extraordinary, it really was a pivotal one.

Forwards

Estevao - 6.2/10

18-year-old Estevao displayed his silky skills on the left flank, and along with the support of Piquerez, he created some trouble for the opponents. He was seen taking most of the corner kicks on the right, but almost none of them challenged the opponents, and this was disappointing. Even though his moves were good, the scoring boot was missing somewhere.

Vitor Roque - 6.2/10

He was a nuisance for the Botafogo backline as he was aggressively pressing throughout the minutes played. Converted even the simplest of long balls into vicious attacks. Broke down the left and tried to link with Estevao. But since the player was unable to find the back of the net, he was subbed off in the second half.

Mauricio - 6/10

Was initially assigned the winger role by the gaffer, but later on, the player was seen more in an AM role. He was just another average player in the match as he did not make any significant contributions in the attack. Whenever he got some through balls, John was alert and came quickly off his line to win them.

Substitutes

Luighi Hanri - 6/10

Paulinho - 8/10

Came in as a replacement for Roque and had a stellar performance. Won all the duels he was involved in. Made a brilliant run from the right, took a cheeky turn and took a shot on the far post to score to winner for Palmeiras.

Mayke - 6/10

Facundo Torres - 6/10

Anibal Moreno - 6/10

Micael - 6/10

Manager

Abel Ferreira - 7/10

His team was dominating right from the first minute. The only problem they were facing was the inability to finish. The gaffer stood with his strategy and made timely substitutions, and won the game for his team.

Botafogo Player Ratings

Here are the Botafogo Player Ratings.

Goalkeeper

John Victor - 7.5/10

Though the opponents crafted some attacks and added pressure upon the keeper, he wasn't put to a real test, as most of the attempts made by Palmeiras went way wide. Early in the second half, he made a stunning save off a shot by Estevao. Later, he produces some astounding saves to keep the deadlock safe. In the end, he finally had to succumb to the opponents.

Defenders

Alex Telles - 6/10

Alex was visibly frustrated as his team was unable to put pressure on the opponents. The opponents dominating the attack added to his frustration and this led to him committing a blatant foul in front of the linesman, and his name went into the book, which restricted his further play in the game.

Alexander Barboza - 7/10

He was a bit overcommitted and made a rash foul in the 3rd minute, which earned him under the referee. Barboza was having a significant impact in the defence as he stood tall and headed away the set pieces taken by the opponents. The player made some interceptions and clearances.

Jair - 7/10

Linked with Vitinho whenever Estevao tried to attack from the left. Collectively, they were able to resist the winger from entering the box and kept him silent in the attacking third. Was seen making some good blocks and clearances to keep the opponents away from scoring.

Vitinho - 7.4/10

Vitinho was seen a bit casual in the defence as he did not attempt to make a run and win the long balls that came to his half. However, while coming into attack, the player was seen with much vigor as he was seen making some crosses. But to his dismay, most of them were tracked down by Piquerez. In the second half, the vigor was also seen in the defence as he stood like a strong wall on the right to close down every single attacking initiative.

Midfielders

Marlon Freitas - 6/10

Made some fancy footwork in the midfield to dribble past the midfielders and attempt at the goal, which ultimately went wide. Had a solid presence in the midfield, dominating every aspect. But the individual effort did not prevail against the teamwork of the opponents.

Danilo Barbosa - 7.2/10

Barbosa was the pivotal player for Botafogo in the midfield. Had an exceptional work rate, and the player covered almost every blade of grass in the midfield third. He was dominating in almost every aspect he was involved. Surprisingly, he was subbed off in the second half.

Allan - 6/10

Did not have much impact on the game. He was not much offense-oriented and was subbed off for Montoro, who showed a much greater intent in the attack.

Forward

Jefferson Savarino - 6/10

Savarino was having almost zero contribution in the minutes played. Had a very bad duel conversion rate as he did not manage to win even one duel he was involved in. Went for the goal himself a couple of times, but all of them were comfortable save for the keeper. Was subbed off in the second half.

Igor Jesus - 6/10

Every time Botofogo counterattacked in the early minutes of the first half, it came from the boots of Igor. However, the lack of support meant that the player lost momentum in the attacking third. Made some clearances and won a couple of duels. Apart from that, the player did not have any impressive stats.

Artur - 7/10

Arthur had a solid presence on the right wing. He was decent in the duels and had a good passing accuracy, too. Though his team was silent throughout the first half, he kept his calm and made his moves from the flanks. Equally contributed in the defence and made some tackles and interceptions, and to an extent, was able to resist Estevao.

Substitutes

Cuiabano - 6/10

Alvaro Montoro - 6/10

Joaquin Correa - 7/10

Newton - 6/10

Kaio - 6/10

Arthur Cabral - NA

Manager

Renato Paiva - 6/10

His team was not up to the mark in the match. They were seen as a bit too comfortable, and ultimately, this strategy backfired as they had to succumb to the opponents in the key encounter. The attacking mentality of the team only came up when they were trailing, and by then, it was too late.

Sportsdunia's Player of the Match is Paulinho.