Corinthians aim to end Libertadores knockout goal drought since 2018 | OneFootball

Corinthians begin another knockout-stage campaign in the Conmebol Libertadores this Thursday (13). Against Rosario Central of Argentina in the round of 16, Timão will also have the chance to end a streak that has followed its most recent appearances in the tournament: the club has not found the net in a knockout match of the competition’s main stage since 2018.

The last time it happened was on August 29, 2018, against Colo-Colo of Chile, in the second leg of the round of 16. On that occasion, Corinthians won 2-1 at Neo Química Arena, with goals from Jadson and Roger, but were eliminated because of the result in the first match.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

In the first leg, played in Santiago, the Chilean side had won 1-0. With the away-goals rule still in effect in that edition, the goal scored by Lucas Barrios in Itaquera was enough to send Colo-Colo through, even with the Corinthians win in the return leg.

Jadson opened the scoring in the 15th minute of the first half from the penalty spot. The visitors equalized through Lucas Barrios in the 31st minute. Then, in the second half, in the 18th minute, Roger converted Jadson’s corner kick to put Corinthians back in front. The third goal needed to advance, however, never came.

Since that night, Corinthians have returned to the Libertadores in different seasons, but have not managed to score again in knockout matches from the round of 16 onward.

The path since 2018

In 2020, the black-and-white side’s run ended even before the group stage. Corinthians faced Paraguay’s Guaraní in the second preliminary round and lost the first match 1-0. In the return leg in Itaquera, they won 2-1, with goals from Luan and Mauro Boselli, but were eliminated on away goals.

Timão would only return to a knockout tie in the Libertadores main stage in 2022. After advancing as runners-up in their group, Corinthians met Boca Juniors again in the round of 16.

Both matches ended goalless. The first was played at Neo Química Arena and finished 0-0. In the return leg at La Bombonera, the score again remained 0-0. The tie was decided on penalties, and Corinthians advanced to the quarterfinals.

In the next round, the opponent was Flamengo. Timão lost the first match 2-0 in São Paulo and were beaten again in the return leg, this time 1-0 at the Maracanã. As a result, they exited the competition with a 3-0 aggregate defeat and without scoring in any of the four knockout matches they played in that edition.

In 2023, there was no chance to extend that run in knockout ties. Corinthians were eliminated in the Libertadores group stage. The exit was confirmed early after a 3-0 defeat to Independiente del Valle in Ecuador.

Then in 2025, the club returned to the preliminary rounds. Corinthians reached the third round and faced Barcelona de Guayaquil. After losing 3-0 in Ecuador, they won the return leg 2-0 at Neo Química Arena, with goals from Félix Torres and André Carrillo, but could not overturn the deficit and missed out on the group stage.

The goals against Barcelona de Guayaquil came in the preliminary stage, so they are not included in this tally of knockout matches in the competition’s main stage. Considering the round of 16 onward, Jadson and Roger remain the last Corinthians players to score in a Libertadores knockout tie, nearly eight years ago.

Drought began after the win over Colo-Colo

Since the second leg against the Chilean side, Corinthians have played four knockout matches in the Libertadores main stage, all in 2022, and failed to score:

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