Unbelievable halfway goal: São Paulo oust Botafogo, reach 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 for the Tricolor's advancement 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 attacking moves. However, they couldn't create significant scoring opportunities.

It was only in the stoppage time of the half, at 45 minutes, that the 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 EMOTION

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 into the corner, leveling the match at 1-1.

The Tricolor was not discouraged, 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 finished into the net, restoring the Tricolor's lead at 38’.

The match gained excitement in the final minutes, with Botafogo attempting a miraculous equalizer. And that's how their elimination was sealed. In 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 occurred.

Number 9 Paulinho saw the open goal and, from a great distance, behind the semicircle of the midfield, still in his defensive half, he shot. And scored a truly stunning goal in Sorocaba to seal the 3-1 scoreline and São Paulo's qualification for the Copinha semifinals.

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