Coluna do Fla
·15 February 2026
Pulgar admits error for Botafogo goal, celebrates Flamengo progress

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Yahoo sportsColuna do Fla
·15 February 2026

Football is dynamic, and a player can quickly turn things around. An example of this happened this Sunday (15), when Flamengo eliminated Botafogo with a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the Carioca. After failing to mark Barboza’s goal for the rival, Erick Pulgar redeemed himself and secured Mengo’s qualification. The midfielder acknowledged that he could have done better on the opponent’s goal.
— (The goal was to) recover from their goal as well, which was a marking mistake of mine. I managed to reverse my error and win the match. I think this also gives a lot of confidence now for the games to come, which are very important. So, we know we have to keep working to keep improving — said Erick Pulgar.
In the first half, Lucas Paquetá opened the scoring for Flamengo. However, just eight minutes into the second half, Barboza beat Pulgar in the air, headed beautifully, and lobbed the red-black goalkeeper Andrew to level the score in the classic.
However, when Botafogo was having their best moment in the game, Erick Pulgar appeared again, but this time in attack. Arrascaeta took a corner into the box, Vitão deflected it, and the Chilean was left unmarked at the far post. First time, the number 5 headed and hit goalkeeper Neto, who parried. On the rebound, the midfielder made no mistake.
With Flamengo since 2022, Pulgar matched his most prolific season with the Manto, having scored two goals in 2023. It’s worth noting that the midfielder scored in consecutive matches. After all, in the last round of the Brasileirão, the Chilean fired a rocket from outside the box to open the scoring against Vitória, at Barradão.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.









































