Flamengo defeats Botafogo at Nilton Santos and advances to the State Championship semifinals.

Flamengo is in the Carioca Championship semi-final! On Sunday afternoon (15), at Nilton Santos, Rubro-Negro beat Botafogo 2-1, in the quarter-finals, and secured a place in the next phase of the competition. Lucas Paquetá opened the scoring in the first half, Alexander Barboza equalized in the second half, and Erick Pulgar scored the winning goal.

With this result, the team led by Filipe Luís eliminates its rival and remains in the fight for the state title. In the semi-final, Flamengo... will face Madureira, in home and away matches.

The Game

Competing for a spot in the semifinals, the derby began with Flamengo imposing their rhythm. In the opening minutes, the team exchanged passes in the attacking third and even had 68% possession. In the 8th minute, Bastos received a yellow card after a hard foul, the first caution of the match.

Superiority translated into a goal in the 19th minute. After recovering the ball from the opposing goalkeeper, Bruno Henrique passed to Lucas Paquetá, who finished with a low shot into the side netting to open the scoring. It was the number 20's 19th goal in the shirt and his first in this new spell, celebrated with his traditional dance.

Flamengo continued to create chances. In the 33rd minute, Samuel Lino received the ball inside the area, cut inside and shot, but Neto made the save. Then, in the 43rd minute, after a mistake by Montoro, Flamengo launched a counter-attack, Lino crossed the ball and it fell to Emerson Royal, who shot high and wide. The first half ended with Flamengo having 54% possession, seven shots and six tackles.

After the break, Botafogo equalized in the seventh minute. Alex Telles took a corner kick to the far post, and Alexander Barboza headed the ball over Andrew: 1-1.

In pursuit of direct qualification, Filipe Luís made changes. Arrascaeta and Everton Cebolinha came on for Bruno Henrique and Samuel Lino, respectively. In his first play on the field, Cebolinha advanced down the left, but ended up shooting straight at the defender. As the game progressed, Everton Araújo and Luiz Araújo were also called upon to revitalize the team, replacing Carrascal and Plata.

Flamengo regained control of the match and began to press to avoid a penalty shootout. In the 36th minute, Cebolinha advanced down the left and crossed, but Paquetá couldn't finish and the defense cleared for a corner. From that corner, Arrascaeta took the shot, the ball deflected and fell to Erick Pulgar. Neto saved the first header, but parried it back to the Chilean, who didn't waste the opportunity on the second attempt and scored Flamengo's second goal of the game.

In the final minutes, Filipe Luís reinforced the defensive system by bringing on Léo Pereira in place of Paquetá. Even with Botafogo trying to pressure, Flamengo maintained possession in the attacking half, managed the result and, after five minutes of added time, the referee blew the final whistle, confirming Flamengo's qualification for the Carioca semi-final.

Flamengo

Andrew; Emerson Royal, Danilo, Vitão and Ayrton Lucas; Erick and Lucas Paquetá (Léo Pereira); Jorge Carrascal (Everton Araújo) and Samuel Lino (Everton Cebolinha); Plata (Luiz Araújo) and Bruno Henrique (Arrascaeta).

Coach: Filipe Luís.

Botafogo

Neto; Vitinho, Bastos (Ythallo), Alexander Barboza, Lucas Villalba (Nathan Fernandes) and Alex Telles; Danilo (Arthur Novaes), Newton and Jordan Barrera; Álvaro Montoro (Artur) and Matheus Martins (Arthur Cabral).

Coach: Martin Anselmi

Week's agenda

The Most Beloved returns to the field next Thursday (19), at 21:30 pm, to face Atlético Lanús, in the City of Lanús, in Buenos Aires, for the first leg of the Recopa Sudamericana.

Editorial Board

Botafogo 1-2 Flamengo – Campeonato Carioca 2026 | Quarter-Finals

Location: Nilton Santos-RJ

Date and time: 15/02/2026 at 17:30 am

Refereeing: Bruno Arleu de Araújo (RJ), Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Corrêa (RJ) and Thiago Henrique Neto Corrêa Farinha (RJ)

Yellow cards: Bastos (BOT) and Lucas Villalba (BOT)

Goals: Lucas Paquetá (19'1st half), Alexander Barbosa (8'2nd half) and Erick Pulgar (38'2nd half).