Corinthians striker hails away draw in Libertadores, on Hugo Souza row | OneFootball

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Staff

Corinthians visited Santa Fe of Colombia on Wednesday night (6) in a match valid for the fourth round of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores group stage and came away with a 1-1 draw. Corinthians’ goal was scored by center-back Gustavo Henrique in stoppage time of the second half. With the draw, the team reached 10 points at the top of Group E — seven goals scored and one conceded — with three wins and one draw.

Moments after the final whistle, still on the pitch, striker Yuri Alberto gave an interview to Paramount Plus and praised the point earned away from home. The No. 9 is Timão’s top scorer in the 2026 season with five goals, but he has now gone eight matches without finding the net. His last goal came on March 22, in a 1-1 draw against Flamengo in Itaquera, in the eighth round of the Brasileirão.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

“Glory to God. We played a great match, and there’s a feeling of happiness. Even though we conceded, the team was very brave, showed a lot of desire and hunger to go after this result. This away draw is extremely important for us,” he began.

In the 48th minute, after a throw-in, Matheuzinho delivered a pinpoint cross onto the head of the Corinthians defender, who headed it into Mosquera’s top corner to level the score. He was then asked about the commotion at the end of the match.

According to Paramount’s broadcast, the misunderstanding began after Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza’s exuberant celebration following the final whistle — a draw secured at the very end of the game. Santa Fe forward Nahuel Bustos was reportedly bothered by the reaction and started the ‘conflict,’ triggering tension between the two coaching staffs.

“What craziness. I was putting on my pants because I was feeling cold, and I didn’t even see how the confusion started. After that, I just tried to step in and calm things down, but let’s move on. Football is like that; this is Libertadores,” he concluded.

At Corinthians since mid-2022, Yuri Alberto is the club’s top scorer in the 21st century with 81 goals, 50 of them at the Neo Química Arena, opened in 2014, where he is also the all-time top scorer. In addition, he has 23 assists in 229 matches (196 as a starter). He was decisive in the team’s surge in the 2024 Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores preliminary rounds), finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with 15 goals, and was also crucial in the title wins in the Paulista Championship (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026) — scoring in all three finals.

Right after the draw against Santa Fe of Colombia at El Campín Stadium in the Libertadores group stage, Corinthians will turn their focus back to the Brazilian Championship. That is because next Sunday (10), Alvinegro will host São Paulo at the Neo Química Arena at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) in the 15th round of the national competition. Currently, Timão is the first team inside the relegation zone with 15 points — three wins, six draws, and five losses — with 10 goals scored and 13 conceded.

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