Botafogo thrash Cruzeiro, end 13-year hoodoo, rivals struggle | OneFootball

The heavy defeat suffered by Cruzeiro against Botafogo, 4-0, on Thursday night (29th) at Nilton Santos, exposed not only the team’s performance problems but also broke an uncomfortable taboo for the club. The Raposa had not lost by a four-goal margin in over 13 years, which highlights the historical weight of this negative result right at the debut of the Brazilian Championship.

Until then, the last time Cruzeiro had been beaten by such a wide margin was on November 3, 2012. On that occasion, the celeste team was thrashed by Santos 4-0 at Independência, in a match marked by Neymar’s hat-trick, who was even applauded by Cruzeiro fans as he left the pitch. Since then, even during periods of sporting instability, the club had not suffered a defeat with such a large score difference.

The game also marked the breaking of another taboo. Botafogo had not beaten Cruzeiro in almost ten years. The last negative result in the matchup had been on September 11, 2016. At that time, the Raposa lost 2-0 at Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte, in the 24th round of the Brasileirão.

This negative result has heightened the sense of alert at Cruzeiro at the start of the season. The team has now suffered its third consecutive defeat, two of them in the Campeonato Mineiro, highlighting the difficulty in maintaining consistency and competitiveness.

Under Tite’s command, the celeste team has accumulated four setbacks and only two wins in six matches played, numbers that reinforce this unstable moment. In this context, the pressure for improvement in performance and more convincing results is increasing in the State Championship, where the team faces Betim next Sunday at 8 p.m. at Arena Vera Cruz, in Betim, for the 6th round. The team needs to win to keep alive the chance of qualifying for the semifinals.

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