Botafogo waste clear chances, return from Bolivia empty-handed
Botafogo waste clear chances, return from Bolivia empty-handedOneFootballThu, February 19, 2026 at 2:25 AM UTC·2 min readBotafogo made its debut in the 2026 Libertadores with a 1-0 defeat at the Bolivian altitude.
At just over 4,000 meters above sea level, the Glorioso was surpassed by Nacional Potosí in the first leg of the second phase of the Libertadores.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe return match takes place next Wednesday (25), at the Nilton Santos Stadium. Whoever qualifies advances to the third phase, the last before the group stage.
The defeat in Potosí was the second for Brazilian football this Wednesday in the Libertadores.
Earlier, Bahia was defeated by O'Higgins from Chile, also away from home, with a score of 1-0.
The Game
Considering the effects of the altitude, Botafogo took to the field with a cautious approach, staying more defensive and betting on counterattacks.
Nacional Potosí took advantage of this strategy to press and create good scoring chances early on.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Bolivian team threatened, hitting the post and making Léo Linck (replacing Neto) work.
As time went on, Botafogo also started to find ways to threaten and came very close to opening the score on counterattacks.
The most dangerous of these saw Matheus Martins go one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he shot wide.
The home team opened the scoring in the early moments of the second half with a header from Baldomar.
Shortly after, Botafogo had a clear chance to equalize, but Montoro didn't capitalize well on a cross into the area and hit the post with a shot from inside the small box.
Potosí managed to find the net again in the final stage, but the play was ruled offside.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs time went on, the teams became more fatigued, and the game went back and forth. However, no one took advantage of the moment to create good chances and score the second goal of the match.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
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