Sunday evening’s action in the Club World Cup saw Palmeiras and Botafogo begin their campaigns. First up, Palmeiras took on Porto at the MetLife Stadium.
Kicking things off for CONMEBOL sides were Palmeiras, who took on Porto at a Porco packed MetLife Stadium in New York. The match was an entertaining affair despite finishing 0-0, with chances for both sides.
It was Porto who started off brighter, with João Mario forcing Weverton into making an early save. Moments later, teenage sensation Rodrigo Mora had a shot that went just wide.
Then Palmeiras responded. A wonderfully worked move saw Estêvão get on the end of it, but he was denied by Claudio Ramos, who then got up quickly to deny Mauricio. Surely third time lucky for Palmeiras, they thought, when Richard Ríos picked up the ball, spun around, and smashed it goalwards, only to be denied by the Porto backline, who cleared the ball off the line just before the half-time break.
Early in the second, Arsenal loanee Fábio Vieira forced Weverton into a smart save to keep things level. From that point on, Palmeiras took control, having more of the ball and the chances. Allan saw his shot saved down low by Ramos.
Murilo got on the end of a corner, but was denied by the post in what was the best chance of the second half.
Palmeiras pushed for the winner, but just couldn’t find that final touch. A frustrating evening considering how much they controlled after the break, but a solid enough start to their campaign.
Then the Brazilian and Copa Libertadores champions, Botafogo, took on Seattle Sounders at the Lumen Field.
Botafogo made a great start when a wonderful cross from Alex Telles was met by the head of Igor Jesus, only to be denied by the Seattle keeper, Stefan Frei, who made a solid save.
Then, moments later, a free-kick from Telles was met by the head of Jair, who fired Botafogo into the lead with a lovely headed goal, a sign of things to come.
Just before half-time, it was another beautiful ball in, this time from former Burnley man, Vitinho, which was met by the head of Igor Jesus, who headed home to make it 2-0.
Then in the second half, Seattle got back into the game with a header of their own, as Paul Rothrock crossed for Cristian Roldan, who pulled one back for the hosts.
In the dying embers of the match, Pedro De La Vega had a wonderful chance to steal a point for Seattle; however, John Victor was on hand with a massive save to secure all three points for Botafogo.
Brasileirão Breakdown 