Atletico Mineiro 1-3 Botafogo: Santos secures history-making maiden Copa Libertadores title

Ten-man Botafogo made history when they won the Copa Libertadores for the first time with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Mineiro in Buenos Aires.

The Brazilian Serie A leaders had to do it the hard way after being shown a red card in the second minute, but held firm to stop Atletico's attempts at a comeback.

There were only 29 seconds left on the clock when Gregore Fausto caught Vera in the head with a high boot and waved the red card after 65 seconds.

Atletico failed to capitalize on their chances despite their numerical advantage and were soon on the back foot when Luiz Henrique fired in the rebound from Thiago Almada's blocked shot.

Luiz Henrique won a penalty nine minutes later when the goalkeeper cleared it, and Alex Telles sent in confidently from twelve yards.

Eduardo Vargas pulled one back just two minutes into the second half and nodded into Hulk's corner, but despite their dominance they could not find a second goal.

Atletico sent bodies forward in search of an equalizer but were caught at the other end in the final minute of stoppage time as Junior Santos ran in from close range to secure the trophy.

#TempoDeBotafogo is over!

A #GloriaEternaé do @Botafogo! Campeão inédito will be played by @Atletico after 3-1 in the final in Buenos Aires. Tu és o Glorioso!

CONMEBOL #Libertadores pic.twitter.com/238xlW1eCI

— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) November 30, 2024

Data Debrief: History Makers

It was the fourth all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores final in the past five years and it did not disappoint, with dramatic twists and turns from the first minute to the last.

Although it was already guaranteed that a side from Brazil would lift the trophy for the sixth consecutive year – something that has never been done before – Botafogo etched their name in history with the victory.

Another name that went down in the history books was Gregore, who received the fastest red card in a final in the history of the competition, surpassing Ruben Sune and Roberto Paredes (both two minutes).

Junior Santos finished as the league's top scorer (10 goals), although his last-minute strike on Saturday was his first in the competition since the group stage.