It's good that Botafogo is being underestimated. The championship is only won once it's over. Until there, players have to play each match as it was the decisive one for the title, doesn't matter how many points ahead they are compared to the second club on the table.
Teams which enter a comfort zone tend to lose performance, and when they try to revert the situation it's already too late, or the pressure over them is too high that they become emotionally annoyed and disturbed.
That said, Botafogo is playing a very entertaining soccer this season, thanks to its players who display chemistry in field. Arthur Jorge's management is also being very positive so far.
Haha no one expected Botafogo to be this good because in the last few seasons they were just team at the bottom of the table and were in the relegation zone but slowly improved significantly with the 2023/24 season they finished in 5th place and are now at the top to compete for the title.
Initially I thought no team could hold Palmeiras in the course of the competition but surprisingly Botafogo was able to take over the top of the standings and have points advantage over the team that almost always dominates the Brazil Serie-A.
Now there are only 3 team that are close to the title and they are Botafogo, Palmeiras and also Fortaleza, each of which only has fairly small difference so it can be ascertained that all three are team that will compete and fight for the title.
But on the other hand I also quite impressed with Fortaleza performance which was able to survive and occupy third place in the standings, Botafogo and Fortaleza are big surprises this season.