Brasileirão: Defender hits vs Cruzeiro, now Corinthians' No 2 scorer | OneFootball

Corinthians took the field on Sunday night (16) at Neo Química Arena to host Cruzeiro in a match valid for the 23rd round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship, and were beaten 2-1. The stumble at home in the national competition left the Corinthians side in ninth place with 32 points — eight wins, eight draws, and seven defeats — with 25 goals scored and 22 conceded.

Despite the negative result, the club from Parque São Jorge saw its scoring rankings for the season shaken up. Timão’s goal was scored by center-back Gustavo Henrique, who became the team’s second-highest scorer of the year with six goals, moving ahead of midfielder André Luiz, who has five. In this category, the No. 13 trails only center-forward Yuri Alberto, who has already found the net eight times this year and is currently recovering from a muscle injury.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

The defender’s goal came in the 13th minute of the first half. Midfielder Rodrigo Garro took a free kick from the right side of midfield, goalkeeper Otávio came off his line poorly and punched the ball upward, and on the rebound the defender struck a volley into the back of the net. It was the defender’s second goal this month. On August 6, in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 16, in which Timão won 2-1 but were ultimately eliminated, the experienced player also scored.

According to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, the center-back, who played the full 90 minutes, posted the following numbers in the match: 11 defensive contributions, two interceptions, seven clearances, two ball recoveries, won 2/3 ground duels, won 3/3 aerial duels, 76 touches, and 25 carries.

Signed in 2024 after spells in European football with Fenerbahçe (Turkey) and Real Valladolid (Spain), as well as playing for Santos and Flamengo in Brazil, Gustavo Henrique quickly became one of the key figures and leaders in Timão’s squad. In total, he has 12 goals and four assists in 112 appearances (108 as a starter) in a Corinthians shirt.

He was part of the team’s historic surge in the 2024 Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Pre-Libertadores — seventh place with 56 points), and was also a starter in the title wins of the Paulista Championship (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively.

Corinthians, now with Gustavo Henrique looking to extend his scoring run, shift their focus to the second leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores round of 16. That is because next Thursday (20), at 9:30 p.m. Brasília time, Alvinegro will face Rosario Central-ARG, also at Neo Química Arena. If there is another draw, the quarterfinalist will be decided by a penalty shootout.

Corinthians top scorers 2026:

1) Yuri Alberto – eight goals 2) Gustavo Henrique* – six goals3) André Luiz – five goals 4) Rodrigo Garro and Breno Bidon – three goals each 5) Pedro Raul, Kaio César, Zakaria Labyad, Dieguinho, Jesse Lingard, Matheus Bidu, Kayke, Gabriel Paulista, and Raniele – two goals each6) Fabrizio Angileri, Matheus Pereira, Matheuzinho, Memphis Depay, João Pedro Tchoca, Vitinho, Gui Negão, and André Ramalho – one goal each

Corinthians assists ranking 2026

1) Rodrigo Garro – 11 assists

2) Matheuzinho and Yuri Alberto – four assists each

3) Matheus Bidu – three assists

4) André Luiz, Zakaria Labyad, Pedro Raul, Gustavo Henrique, and Kaio César – two assists each

5) Breno Bidon, Jesse Lingard, André Carrillo, Memphis Depay, Dieguinho, Vitinho, and Ryan – one assist each

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