Corinthians come back to beat Grêmio, striker gets first | OneFootball

Corinthians took the field this Saturday for their last match before the World Cup break. Fernando Diniz’s team faced Grêmio at the Arena do Grêmio in Porto Alegre, in the 18th round of the Brazilian Championship, and came away with a 3-1 victory, with two goals from André and one from Kaio César.

In the first half, Grêmio started better and pressed Corinthians’ build-up play. In the 7th minute, after Raniele was dispossessed, Carlos Vinícius shot, Bidon cleared it off the line, but Gabriel Mec pounced on the rebound to open the scoring. Corinthians did not let it shake them and began to control the match more, attacking mainly down the flank with Kaio César. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Bidon crossed into the box, Viery made a poor clearance, and André fired a powerful shot to level things up. The goal gave Timão confidence, and they ended the first half on top. Halftime: 1-1 at the Arena.

Photo: Miguel Schincariol/Getty Images

In the second half, Timão completely took control of the game and dominated the opponent. André scored again to turn the match around, and Kaio César added another right after. Grêmio also had debutant goalkeeper Beltrame sent off, and Corinthians managed the match until the end to secure the win.

Corinthians lineup

The Corinthians coaching staff could not count on the following players for the match: center-back João Pedro Tchoca (recovering from inguinal hernia surgery), left-back Hugo Farias (recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee), defensive midfielder Charles (not called up), attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard (personal matters in England), as well as forwards Vitinho (pain in his right hip and a hamstring tendon injury, according to ge.globo), Kayke (surgical procedure on the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament, ACL), and Memphis Depay (released to join the Netherlands national team).

As a result, coach Fernando Diniz chose to start with: Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho, Gabriel Paulista, Gustavo Henrique and Matheus Bidu; Raniele, André Luiz, Breno Bidon and Rodrigo Garro; Kaio César and Yuri Alberto.

The bench options were: Kauê Camargo, André Ramalho, Pedro Milans, Carrillo,Fabrízio Angileri, Allan, Alex Santana, Matheus Pereira, André Carrillo, Dieguinho, Zakaria Labyad, Gui Negão and Pedro Raul.

Grêmio lineup

Coach Luís Castro named the team as follows: Thiago Beltrame; Marcos Rocha, Viery, Wagner Leonardo and Pedro Gabriel; Leo Pérez, Arthur, Gabriel Mec, Tetê, Braithwaite and Carlos Vinicius.

Officiating

The match was officiated by Lucas Paulo Torezin. The assistant referees were Luanderson Lima dos Santos and Andrey Luiz de Freitas, while Yuri Elino Ferreira da Cruz served as the fourth official. VAR was overseen by Marco Aurélio Augusto Fazekas Ferreira.

Next match

After this Saturday’s clash, Corinthians will only return to the field after the World Cup. On July 22, with the kickoff time still to be confirmed, Timão will host Remo at Neo Química Arena in the 19th round of the Brasileirão.

First half

In the third minute, Arthur tried a pass into the box, Gabriel Paulista failed to clear properly, and the ball fell to Tetê, who got off a dangerous shot.

Grêmio’s first goal: In the sixth minute, on a counterattack by the team from Rio Grande do Sul, Raniele tried to make a tackle and the ball fell to Carlos Vinícius. The striker got a shot away, Bidon cleared it off the line, but Gabriel Mec arrived unmarked and simply tapped it into the net.

Then, in the 14th minute, Carlos Vinícius received the ball on the edge of the box and shot, but it deflected off the defense and went out for a corner. In the 17th minute, Corinthians had a dangerous free kick near the box and Garro struck it directly, forcing the opposing goalkeeper into a save.

In the 21st minute, Yuri Alberto picked up the ball outside the box, got past his marker and tried a shot, but it lacked power. Even so, goalkeeper Beltrame spilled it at first and Bidon nearly got to the rebound, but the defense arrived first.

Then, in the 27th minute, Matheuzinho burst into the box at speed and delivered a perfect cross for Yuri Alberto. The center-forward headed it well toward the corner, but the Grêmio goalkeeper did very well to reach it and made a great save. In the 30th minute, Garro took a corner and found Yuri alone on the penalty spot, but the number 9 blasted his shot wide.

In the 32nd minute, Gabriel Paulista appeared on the edge of the box and tried a shot. The center-back struck it dangerously, and the ball deflected off the opposing defense before going just wide of Beltrame’s goal. In the 41st minute, Timão had another dangerous free kick, but Matheuzinho hit it too hard and over the bar.

Corinthians’ first goal: In the 46th minute, Bidon crossed into the box, Viery made a very poor clearance, and the ball fell to André, who hammered it into the corner with no chance for Beltrame, leveling the match.

There was still time for one last dangerous chance. In the 49th minute, Garro delivered a good corner and Raniele rose in the middle of the box to head it over the crossbar. After that, the first half came to an end.

Second half

Right in the opening minute, Garro tried a shot from outside the box and Grêmio’s goalkeeper made the save. In the fifth minute, Bidon turned on the edge of the box and found Matheuzinho. The full-back received it and shot, but put too much power on it and it went behind for a goal kick.

In the sixth minute, Tetê burst down the right at speed and entered the box, but Bidu made a brilliant sliding tackle and dispossessed him at the crucial moment to prevent a dangerous attack. In the ninth minute, Gabriel Mec surged forward, went past Gustavo Henrique, and was blocked as he tried to shoot.

Corinthians’ second goal: In the 19th minute, Corinthians played out from the back, Garro received the ball and found André, who combined with Yuri Alberto and went one-on-one with Beltrame, calmly finishing into the corner to put his team ahead.

Corinthians’ third goal: Then, in the 22nd minute, Kaio César received the ball on the left, drove into the box dribbling past the entire Grêmio defense, and finished with class to extend Corinthians’ lead right after the comeback.

In the 29th minute, Matheus Bidu got on the end of an excellent pass from Garro and tried to dribble past goalkeeper Beltrame, who committed a foul to stop the Corinthians goal and was sent off by the referee.

In the 35th minute, from a free kick, Rodrigo Garro struck it hard and forced goalkeeper Gabriel Menegon, who had just come on, into an important save to prevent a fourth goal for the black-and-white side. Then, in the 41st minute, Garro received the ball on the edge of the box and tried a shot, but the Grêmio defense blocked it and sent it out for a corner.

Timão continued to hover around Grêmio’s box, but without creating many truly dangerous shots. Even so, Corinthians controlled the match until the end and secured an important away win.

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