Botafogo made their mission of reaching the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals much harder.
Playing at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Stadium, 3,350 meters above sea level, Glorioso were thrashed 6-1 by Cienciano this Thursday (13).
There was controversial VAR, a goalkeeper blunder, and a center-forward hat-trick.
Did you catch the score?
The Peruvian side got the first after 18 minutes, thanks to Succar.
The second came amid controversy and after a five-minute VAR review.
Signed after several Botafogo goalkeeping mistakes, Warleson made a HUGE error and Succar grabbed another.
The fourth was scored by Martinich from long range, with no chance for Warleson.
Franclim Carvalho made two substitutions in the 35th minute. He chose to change the attacking setup.
It was the first time in history that a Peruvian team had scored four goals against a Brazilian side in the first half.
They responded, but...
There was some hope when Matheus Martins pulled one back with a free-kick just four minutes into the second half.
Arthur Cabral also had a good chance before Cienciano regained control of the match.
Bandiera scored the fifth.
And Succar completed his hat-trick.
What now❓
The second leg will be next Thursday (20) at Nilton Santos.
Botafogo will only qualify in normal time if they win by six goals.
A five-goal Botafogo victory will send the tie to penalties.
Cienciano, meanwhile, can lose by up to four goals.
Whoever goes through will face Montevideo City Torque or Tigre next. In the first leg, the Uruguayan side won 1-0 on Argentine soil.
Glorioso now turn their focus back to the Brasileirão. They are currently ninth and will travel to Barradão to face Vitória (13th) on Sunday (16).
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.