Hulk scores twice, Fluminense win and sink Corinthians | OneFootball

Fluminense beat Corinthians 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at Neo Química Arena. Hulk scored twice, and Kevin Serna sealed the result. Corinthians’ goal was scored by Gustavo Henrique. With the win, Tricolor moved up to 48 points and sits in third place, though it could drop in the standings by the end of the round. Corinthians, meanwhile, deepened its crisis and remains on 32 points in 14th place.

First half ends with Fluminense ahead

First of all, even under pressure from the negative result in midweek and the fans’ protests, Corinthians took the field looking relaxed and had a good first half. The teams spent much of the first 45 minutes sizing each other up and created chances, though with few clear opportunities to score.

Even so, although the São Paulo side looked better on the pitch, Fluminense managed to keep things balanced without facing defensive danger. That was how Tricolor scored in the 23rd minute. Canobbio made a run, found Lucho on the left, and he crossed for Hulk to score. The play went to a VAR review, which confirmed Fluminense’s goal.

The goal helped Flu, which grew into the match and had a chance to score a second. However, they lacked the attacking quality needed to beat goalkeeper Hugo Souza. The game went into halftime with both teams attacking a lot.

Second half with Fluminense clinical.

Corinthians came back better in the second half. The team pressed Fluminense from the opening minutes. In the 7th minute, André made a good play down the right. He got past his marker and left Gustavo Henrique one-on-one with the goal. The center-back tried to poke the ball in, but got the weight wrong and sent it back to goalkeeper Fábio.

The game improved greatly in technical quality. In the 10th minute, Garro crossed into the box, Bidu set it up for Gui Negão, whose header forced Fábio into a miracle save to keep Flu alive. On the very next play, Timão equalized. Garro took a corner, the ball stayed alive in Fluminense’s box, and fell to Memphis to finish. Fábio made another incredible save, but on the rebound Gustavo Henrique was there to make it all square.

In the 19th minute, Timão threatened again through Memphis. He took a free kick with great quality, and Fábio was there to prevent Corinthians’ second goal. In the 27th minute, it was Fluminense’s turn to attack. Hulk burst forward and crossed for Canobbio. The Uruguayan was setting up to shoot inside the box, but Bidu came across to clear.

But Fluminense was efficient and scored its second through Hulk in the 30th minute. Martinelli dispossessed Garro in midfield and found Ganso, who set Hulk up perfectly to lead the counterattack. He drove forward and hit a powerful shot from outside the box. The ball took a deflection off Gustavo Henrique and wrong-footed Hugo Souza.

There was still time for Flu’s third goal, in the 47th minute. Serna dispossessed Garro in midfield; the ball fell to Martinelli, who launched the counterattack. The midfielder left Serna free inside the box, and he struck with a deflection to score Flu’s third.

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