Palmeiras barely squeezed through to the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Botafogo 1-0 in extra time. The match was a real snooze fest for fans – poor on chances, full of fouls, and painfully boring. The hero? Paulinho, who scored the only goal in the 100th minute, beating Botafogo’s goalkeeper and securing the win. Palmeiras dominated with 16 shots, but the real drama unfolded in the second extra time when Gustavo Gomez was sent off with a second yellow card, leaving Palmeiras with ten men. Botafogo had a few chances but failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage. The referee added a whopping five minutes of stoppage time, during which Palmeiras players dragged the game to protect their lead. This match perfectly illustrates how the FIFA Club World Cup can sometimes be far from the spectacle fans expect. Is this really the pinnacle of club football or just another case of fatigue from too many games? Got thoughts? Drop them in the comments – maybe together we can figure out what’s going on with football these days!
