Analysis: draw with Botafogo sums up Corinthians' outlook for 2025 | OneFootball

By André Costa

Corinthians once again faltered due to irregularity and drew 2-2 with Botafogo this Sunday at the Neo Química Arena, in the Brazilian Championship. Timão started the game well and opened the scoring early, but let the victory slip from their hands.

Textbook First Half

Corinthians' performance in the first half of the match was textbook. With a very well-coordinated high press, the team created good chances from ball recoveries in Botafogo's field and practically suffered no defensive threats.

The only mistake by the team in the initial stage was not 'twisting the knife.' Yuri Alberto missed and squandered an incredible chance in the small area that could have given a greater lead on the scoreboard.

Steep Decline

If the first half was almost perfect, the second half was to forget. Corinthians did not return well from the break, plummeted in performance, and saw the 1-0 lead dissolve in 20 minutes. Cuiabano and Barrera capitalized on marking errors to turn the score around.

There was still time to launch an attack and seek the equalizing goal with Gustavo Henrique, after an excellent individual play by Vitinho. However, the result is disappointing, especially considering everything the team showed in the first half.

Portrait of 2025

The fluctuation from one half to the other is nothing more than a portrait of Corinthians in 2025. The team cannot be consistent throughout the season and swings from encouraging performances to terrible ones in a short period.

Not surprisingly, Timão finishes the Brasileirão without great ambitions. Dorival Júnior, however, needs to correct this problem to avoid surprises in the Copa do Brasil semifinal against Cruzeiro. Such a large fluctuation within a decisive match could ruin everything.

Situation in the Standings

With the draw, Corinthians jumped to ninth place in the standings, with 46 points, two behind eighth-placed São Paulo. Without a chance for G7, Dorival Júnior's team aims at least for the eighth position to possibly secure a spot in the Libertadores in case of failure in the Copa do Brasil.

Next Corinthians Match

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.