Corinthians midfielder tops Libertadores assists, leads team in season | OneFootball

Corinthians faced Estudiantes-ARG at Jorge Luís Hirschi Stadium in La Plata, Argentina, in the first leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores quarterfinals, and drew 1-1. Forward Kaio César scored the equalizer for the club from Parque São Jorge four minutes into the second half. If the second leg also ends in a draw, qualification will be decided on penalties.

Corinthians’ goal in the match came from an assist by Rodrigo Garro. The No. 8 remains the team’s clear top provider this season, with 12 assists. On this night, right at the start of the second half, he played Kaio César through one-on-one with goalkeeper Fernando Muslera after a deep pass in behind the defense. The team’s runners-up in this category this year are right-back Matheuzinho and forward Yuri Alberto, both with four.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

According to R10 Score, Rodrigo Garro is the Série A player with the most assists in 2026. By setting up Kaio César on this night, the Argentine also became the top assist provider in this edition of the Libertadores, with five assists. The first two came in the opener, in the away win over Platense-ARG, when he set up forwards Kayke and Yuri Alberto.

Then, in the second group-stage round, in the 2-0 win over Santa Fé of Colombia, he delivered a free kick toward center-back Gustavo Henrique, who scored with a volley. In the following match, against Peñarol-URU, which Timão won 2-0 in the third round of the group stage, he once again set up Gustavo Henrique.

Garro moved ahead of Flaco López of Palmeiras and Matías Fernández of Independiente Rivadavia of Argentina, both of whom have four assists in this Libertadores. Previously, his last assist for Corinthians had come on May 14, in the 1-0 win over Barra-SC in the second leg of the fifth round of the 2026 Copa do Brasil, when he set up Yuri Alberto for the game’s only goal.

On the other hand, his last goal for Corinthians came on August 9 — he has three in 2026. On that date, Timão beat Red Bull Bragantino 2-0 at Estádio Cícero de Souza Marques in the 22nd round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship. Against Estudiantes-ARG, according to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, he posted the following numbers in the 87 minutes he was on the field: 27/35 accurate passes, 3/6 accurate long balls, 49 touches, 1/1 successful dribbles, three fouls won, 12 carries (two progressive), 4/8 ground duels won, 2/3 aerial duels won, one clearance and two defensive actions. His rating in the app was 7.1.

Since arriving at Corinthians in January 2024, after standing out for Talleres in Argentina, he has scored 18 goals and provided 34 assists in 146 matches (119 as a starter), with 63 wins, 41 draws and 42 losses — a 52.5% success rate. The No. 8 was key in the team’s surge in the Brasileirão the year before last (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifiers — seventh place with 56 points), and was also part of the title-winning squads in the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025) and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, respectively.

With Rodrigo Garro available, before facing Estudiantes-ARG again in midweek, Corinthians are preparing to return to action next Sunday (13) at 5:30 p.m. Brasília time. Alvinegro will visit Flamengo at the Maracanã Stadium in the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship. Timão currently sit 12th with 32 points — eight wins, eight draws and 10 losses — with 27 goals scored and 27 conceded.

Rodrigo Garro’s assists for Corinthians in the Libertadores; competition leader in the category

4) Estudiantes 1 x 1 Corinthians – 09/09/2026 – Libertadores 2026 – one assist3) Corinthians 2 x 0 Peñarol – 30/04/2026 – 2026 Libertadores Group Stage – one assist2) Corinthians 2 x 0 Independiente Santa Fé – 15/04/2026 – 2026 Libertadores Group Stage – one assist1) Platense 0 x 2 Corinthians – 09/04/2026 – 2026 Libertadores Group Stage – two assists

Corinthians assists ranking 2026

1) Rodrigo Garro* – 12 assists

2) Matheuzinho and Yuri Alberto – four assists each

3) Gustavo Henrique and Matheus Bidu – three assists each

4) Allan, Memphis Depay, André Luiz, Zakaria Labyad, Pedro Raul and Kaio César – two assists each

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

Conmebol Libertadores campaign and prize money earned

In the group stage, Alvinegro qualified as leaders of Group E with 11 points — three wins, two draws and one loss — with eight goals scored and nine conceded. Timão’s group included Platense-ARG, Peñarol-URU and Santa Fé-COL. In the round of 16, meanwhile, they eliminated Rosario Central-ARG. The first match in Buenos Aires ended goalless. In the return leg at Neo Química Arena, Corinthians won 1-0.

For their performance in the international competition, Corinthians have already earned R$ 25.9 million. Of that total, R$ 16.9 million came from the group-stage campaign, while the rest refers to reaching the quarterfinals. At this stage, Timão have four wins, four draws and one loss in the competition — 10 goals scored and five conceded.

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