Soccer-Corinthians beat Botafogo 3-1 in Serie A opener

Botafogo pulled one back with a penalty by Diego Goncalves after 66 minutes but they suffered defeat in front of 37,000 fans on their return to Serie A after a year in the second tier.

Botafogo's return to Brazilian soccer's top division ended in disappointment when Corinthians beat the Rio de Janeiro side 3-1 in their opening Serie A league game on Sunday. The visitors overran Botafogo in the first half with Paulinho, Gustavo Mantuan and Lucas Piton all on target to give them a commanding 3-0 lead by halftime.

Former Chelsea and Brazil winger Willian had an outstanding first 45 minutes and laid on two of the goals before being withdrawn at the break. Botafogo pulled one back with a penalty by Diego Goncalves after 66 minutes but they suffered defeat in front of 37,000 fans on their return to Serie A after a year in the second tier.