São Paulo stun Botafogo with wondergoal, reach Copinha semis | OneFootball

With a painting by Paulinho, the famous 'goal that Pelé never scored,' São Paulo defeated Botafogo 3-1 on Monday night (19) in the quarterfinals of the Copinha, advancing to the semifinals of the under-20 competition.

The match, held at the Walter Ribeiro stadium in Sorocaba, saw Djhordney, Matheus Menezes, and the top scorer Paulinho score to secure Tricolor's place in the country's main youth tournament. In the semifinals, they will face the surprise team Ibrachina, who eliminated Palmeiras on penalties to secure their spot. The Paulista Federation will still confirm the date, time, and location, but the semifinal is expected to be this Thursday (22).

JUGGLING SAVES 1ST HALF

The first half was full of competition and balance, with São Paulo making better offensive moves. However, they couldn't create significant scoring opportunities.

It was only in the added time of the half, at 45 minutes, that Tricolor took the lead with their strong aerial play. Djhordney performed a juggling act to head the ball after a crossed free kick, scoring 1-0 for São Paulo in Sorocaba.

STUNNING GOALS AND EXCITEMENT

The team from Rio returned with a different attitude after the break and began to threaten São Paulo's goal, eventually finding the equalizer at 11’ with a beautiful goal. In an aerial play now from Botafogo, Arthur Izaque appeared free in the area to volley the ball into the top corner, leveling the match at 1-1.

Tricolor was not discouraged, and Allan Barcellos made several changes to the team, which paid off. Paulinho took on the role of playmaker and made a beautiful pass to Igor Felisberto in the penalty area. The fullback touched it to Matheus Menezes, who had come on in the second half, and he completed it into the net, regaining the lead for Tricolor at 38’.

The match grew more exciting in the final minutes, with Botafogo attempting a miraculous equalizer. And it was in this way that their elimination was sealed. During a corner for the Rio de Janeiro team, goalkeeper Rhyan Luca went into the area, but São Paulo caught the rebound. And that's when the genius moment happened.

Number 9 Paulinho saw the open goal and, from a great distance, behind the center circle in his own half, kicked the ball. He scored a truly stunning goal in Sorocaba to seal the 3-1 scoreline and São Paulo's qualification for the Copinha semifinals. Watch the highlights below:

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