Botafogo lose in Potosí, suffer sixth straight defeat | OneFootball

This Wednesday, Botafogo lost to Nacional Potosí 1-0 in the first leg of the second round of the Copa Libertadores preliminary phase. The defeat at the Víctor Agustín Ugarte Stadium in Potosí, which is at an altitude of 4,090 meters, was the Alvinegro's sixth consecutive loss of the season.

Situation of the Matchup

The return leg will take place at 9:30 pm (Brasília time) this Wednesday, at Nilton Santos Stadium. To advance in regular time, Botafogo will need to win by at least two goals.

📋 Match Summary

🔴NACIONAL POTOSÍ 1 X 0 BOTAFOGO⚫

🏆 Competition: 2nd round of the Pre-Libertadores (first leg) 🏟️ Venue: Víctor Agustín Ugarte Stadium 📅 Date: February 18, 2026 (Wednesday) ⏰ Time: 9:30 pm (Brasília time) 🟨 Yellow Cards: Matero Ponte, Newton, and Barrera (Botafogo)

Refereeing

Referee: Augusto Aragon (Ecuador) Assistants: Ricardo Baren (Ecuador) and Dennys Guerrero (Ecuador) VAR: Gabriel González (Ecuador)

Goals

⚽ Baldomar, 1′ of the 2nd half (Nacional Potosí)

How the Match Went

Nacional Potosí started the match trying to put pressure on Botafogo. However, the home team only posed a threat on set pieces. First, Otormin took a free kick over the crossbar. Then, from a corner kick, Baldomar headed the ball, it deflected off Alex Telles and hit the post. 

The plays energized the Bolivians. So much so that Nacional Potosí threatened again at the 21st minute, with a shot from Otormin that was stopped by a save from Léo Linck. Soon after, Botafogo made a mistake in their build-up and saw Nuñez almost open the scoring. Gradually, Botafogo improved their marking and began to advance with quality. The Rio team had two chances to score. First, at 34 minutes, Barrera received a pass and narrowly missed the target. Shortly after, Newton shot from the edge of the area, close to the goal.

In the second half, the home team took advantage of their first chance to open the scoring within a minute. Baldomar capitalized on a free kick into the box and headed in with no chance for Léo Linck. Botafogo was forced to push forward after the setback and had another great chance at nine minutes. Vitinho crossed low to Montoro in the six-yard box. But the Argentine hit the post. Nacional Potosí responded right after with Solis, but the midfielder shot over the bar.

The home team regained control of the match and even found the net at 16 minutes. However, the play was ruled out for offside. As time went by, the match remained open. Nacional Potosí threatened with Solis, while Botafogo responded with a free kick from Alex Telles. In the final minutes, the Bolivians looked to extend their lead but faltered in the final pass. Meanwhile, the Rio team seemed to struggle with the altitude and preferred to keep the deficit to a minimum, thinking about the return leg in Rio de Janeiro.

Lineups

🔴NACIONAL POTOSÍ

Galindo, Baldomar, Restrepo, Demiquel and Torrico (Orellana); Azogue, Nuñez (Rojas), Otormin (Hoyos) and Solis (Abastoflor); Álvarez and Villalba (Tobar) Coach: Leonardo Egüez

⚫BOTAFOGO

Léo Linck, Barboza, Bastos and Mateo Ponte (Ythallo); Vitinho, Wallace Davi (Villalba), Newton and Alex Telles; Montoro (Kauan Toledo), Barrera (Marquinhos) and Matheus Martins (Kadir) Coach: Martín Anselmi

*By Gazeta Press

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