Pulgar admits error for Botafogo goal, celebrates Flamengo progress | OneFootball

Erick Pulgar scored the goal that sent Flamengo to the Carioca semifinals

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 team, Erick Pulgar redeemed himself and sent Mengo through. 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 make up for my mistake and help win the match. I think this also gives a lot of confidence for the upcoming games, which are very important. So, we know we have to keep working to keep improving — said Erick Pulgar.

WHAT HAPPENED TO PULGAR IN THE FLAMENGO VS. BOTAFOGO MATCH?

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, landed a beautiful header, and lobbed the red-black goalkeeper Andrew to level the score in the derby.

However, when Botafogo was enjoying a better moment in the match, 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 the ball and hit goalkeeper Neto, who parried it. On the rebound, the midfielder made no mistake.

PULGAR, A GOALSCORER?

At Flamengo since 2022, Pulgar has 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.