Paulinho came off the bench to fire Palmeiras into the FIFA Club World Cup quarter-finals with a stunning extra-time strike in a 1-0 win against fierce Brazilian rivals Botafogo in Philadelphia.
In a last-16 match played in the unforgiving baking midday sun on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, home of NFL giants Philadelphia Eagles, Paulinho swooped to coolly pass the ball into the corner of the net in the 100th minute with the excellent Botafogo goalkeeper John finally beaten.
Palmeiras were without a win over Botafogo since 2023, a run stretching back five matches, but were worth the victory despite the best efforts of their opponents to frustrate.
Abel Ferreira’s men were made to sweat late on when captain Gustavo Gómez was sent off for a second yellow card in the closing moments of extra-time for dragging Arthur Cabral to the deck, but they saw out five added minutes to prompt wild scenes of jubilation among their fans.
The reward for Palmeiras is a quarter-final meeting with Chelsea or Benfica as they return to Philadelphia on Saturday.