Analysis: Yuri Alberto’s return a boost in a lacklustre Corinthians match | OneFootball

The return of forward Yuri Alberto was a relief for Corinthians, who were far from shining again as they drew 0-0 against Chapecoense last Thursday at Arena Condá, in the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship. The main news of the match was the return of the number 9, highly valued by the coaching staff due to the player's characteristics.

Contrary to expectations, Yuri Alberto completed the 90 minutes on the field. The forward felt a bit out of rhythm, having been sidelined for a month. Even so, the difference he makes on the field is clear. Just look at Timão's performance without him in recent games. Although the result against Chapecoense was not the best, the return of the center-forward is perhaps the only reason for the Faithful Supporters to smile after the draw.

How was the game?

Corinthians took to the field with an alternative lineup and were missing some of their key players, such as Gabriel Paulista and Memphis Depay. Coach Dorival Júnior rotated the team but still brought important news. In midfield, Matheus Pereira returned from injury to play as a defensive midfielder. However, the main reinforcement for Timão was Yuri Alberto, who recovered from a muscle injury in his left thigh.

The match started slowly, with both teams making many technical errors. The game was heavily concentrated on the defenses of Chapecoense and Corinthians, with few attempts at something different. The home team seemed to want to play reactively, relying on Timão's mistakes. Even so, the home team left space, and the black-and-white club tried to take advantage when they could.

Corinthians, however, took time to find their technical footing and continued to make many passing and launching errors they don't usually make, seemingly affected by the different pace of the synthetic pitch. The high pressure from the black-and-white team also had very little effect, failing to fit the marking. Overall, Timão had possession and managed to control the actions, but suffered from a recurring problem in recent games: the lack of creativity and goal-scoring chances.

In short, Corinthians' first half was not good. Defensively, the team did not suffer, with Ramalho and Tchoca secure in the sector. The midfield and attack, on the other hand, were poorly connected. The great hope of Timão, Yuri Alberto, did not appear in the first half, except for the moment he received a yellow card. The impression is that the black-and-white team did little against a rival that did, indeed, leave spaces.

And the second half?

As usual, Dorival Júnior did not make changes to the team right after the break. The second half, in turn, started more lively than the entire first half. Corinthians managed one of their characteristic plays, with a through ball from Garro and a shot by Yuri Alberto, which was saved by the goalkeeper. However, the forward was offside. Even so, Timão started on the front foot, unlike the first 45 minutes.

Dorival took a long time to modify the team, which showed signs of fatigue after 10 minutes of the second half. Corinthians also saw Chapecoense grow in the game and began to face some defensive scares, which did not happen in the initial stage. Finally, the Corinthians coach decided to make changes around the 20-minute mark. Bidon and Raniele came in for André and Matheus Pereira to give new energy to the midfield.

Around 25 minutes in, Corinthians once again encountered a familiar problem: inefficiency. Timão had one of the best chances of the match in a play by Yuri Alberto, but Garro seemed to slip in his attempt to cut the marking and shot poorly, directly at the rival goalkeeper. The match became very open in the final minutes, and Dorival tried two more changes, bringing in Matheuzinho and Kayke to make the team more offensive.

Corinthians still tried a (small) final push, but faced the same problems. It was a rather uninspiring night for Timão, who ended, at least, with the return of Yuri Alberto as a form of relief. It remains to be seen now if the outlook will improve in the upcoming games with the return of the top scorer.

Standings situation

With the result, Corinthians could not shake off the negative streak this season. Timão reached nine points and remained in ninth place in the Brasileirão, but reached their sixth consecutive game without knowing what it's like to win, with two losses and four draws in this stretch.

Upcoming Corinthians matches

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