Botafogo snatch away draw against Barcelona in the Libertadores | OneFootball

This Tuesday, Botafogo drew 1-1 with Barcelona-EQU in the first leg of the third round of the Copa Libertadores preliminary phase, at the Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha in Guayaquil. Matheus Martins scored for the Brazilians, while Villalba netted for the home team.

Match Situation

The return match will be held at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) next Tuesday at the Estádio Nilton Santos. To advance in regular time, Botafogo will need to win by any score.

📋 Match Summary

🟡BARCELONA-EQU 1 X 1 BOTAFOGO⚫

🏆 Competition: 3rd round of the Pre-Libertadores (first leg) 🏟️ Venue: Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha 📅 Date: March 3, 2026 (Tuesday) ⏰ Time: 9:30 PM (Brasília time) 🟨 Yellow Cards: Álvaro Montoro (Botafogo), Quiñonez (Barcelona), and Rojas (Barcelona)

Refereeing

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia) Assistants: John Alexander Léon (Colombia) and Sebastián Vela

Goals

⚽ Héctor Villalba, 22′ of the 1st half (Barcelona) ⚽ Matheus Martins, 21′ of the 2nd half (Botafogo)

How the Match Went

Botafogo started the match well and showed an offensive stance. However, the team struggled with the final pass. Meanwhile, Barcelona had difficulty breaking through the Carioca defense. The home team's first chance came at 12 minutes, when Benedetto attempted a backheel after a cross into the area, but the ball was stopped by Léo Linck.

However, Barcelona scored at 22 minutes. After a poor clearance by the visitors, Villalba first tried with a header. The ball hit the crossbar and came back to the forward, who sent it into the net.

In the second half, Barcelona tried to apply pressure but saw Botafogo threaten at six minutes with a shot from Montoro. Later, Matheus Martins received a pass in the area but shot wide.

After much persistence, the Cariocas equalized at 20 minutes. Barrera crossed low, and Matheus Martins sent it into the net. After the goal, the match lost momentum. Botafogo only had another chance at 35 minutes when Villalba was launched and attempted a cross to Arthur Cabral, but the defense cleared the danger. Barcelona responded with Wita.

Lineups

🟡BARCELONA

Contreras, Vallecilla, Rangel, Baéz, and Carabalí; Quiñonez, Celiz (Montaño), and Martínez (Mina); Rojas (Wila), Villalba (Gómez), and Benedetto (Nuñez). Coach: César Farias

⚫BOTAFOGO

Léo Linck, Barboza, Bastos, and Mateo Ponte (Villalba); Vitinho, Danilo, Newton, and Alex Telles; Montoro, Barrera (Correa), and Matheus Martins (Arthur Cabral). Coach: Martín Anselmi

*By Gazeta Press

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.