Otávio matches top Libertadores 2026 mark, Cruzeiro hero at La Bombonera | OneFootball

The 1-1 draw between Cruzeiro and Boca Juniors last Tuesday in the Copa Libertadores had a central figure on Cruzeiro’s side: Otávio. In one of the club’s most outstanding individual performances of the season, the goalkeeper was crucial in helping the team leave La Bombonera with an important point and keep hold of first place in Group D.

Under pressure for much of the match, especially after Gerson was sent off in the second half, Cruzeiro had to withstand spells of intense pressure from the Argentine side. And it was precisely in that scenario that the No. 1 came up big time and again.

With nine saves throughout the match, Otávio matched the highest number of saves in a single Copa Libertadores game in 2026.

Most saves in a Libertadores match in 2026:

The performance against the Argentines also reinforces Otávio’s recent improvement over the past few weeks. The goalkeeper had already stood out in the draw against Palmeiras in the Brazilian Championship, when he produced a decisive save from Gustavo Gómez’s bicycle kick.

Now, in Buenos Aires, he once again showed confidence coming off his line, good positioning, and composure in the moments of greatest pressure.

The goalkeeper’s performance was also highlighted by Conmebol’s official profile on X (formerly Twitter), which put together a compilation of the Cruzeiro keeper’s main saves:

As highlighted by the “DataFut” profile, with nine saves during the match in Argentina, Otávio became the first Brazilian goalkeeper to record at least that many stops in a Libertadores match since 2023, when Fábio made ten saves in the game between The Strongest and Fluminense.

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