Iago Machado savours Corinthians debut and says he learnt on Friday he would start against Flamengo | OneFootball

Despite a 2-1 defeat to Flamengo in the Brasileiro, 17-year-old centre-back Iago Machado marked his Corinthians debut and expressed gratitude for the chance.

According to Meu Timao, he was selected as Fernando Diniz chose to rest most first-choice players with the Estudiantes quarter-final in mind. The first leg ended 1-1, so a straightforward win in the return would secure progress.

Corinthians started Hugo Souza, Pedro Milans, João Pedro Tchoca, Iago Machado, Angileri, Raniele, Charles, Matheus Pereira, Dieguinho, Lingard and Gui Negão. Key names including Memphis Depay, Gustavo Henrique and Carrillo did not travel to manage workload.

Machado said he was told on Friday he would be in the line-up. He added that the message was to compete on equal terms and fight from start to finish regardless of Flamengo’s selection.

Debuting alongside fellow academy product João Pedro Tchoca, the pair combined for 28 defensive interventions, and Machado was named player of the match. He credited defensive colleagues for clear instructions on when to step out, attack and defend.

The result marked Corinthians’ fifth straight league defeat, leaving them 13th on 32 points, four above the relegation zone.

Focus now shifts to Wednesday’s Libertadores quarter-final second leg against Estudiantes, 21:30, at Neo Química Arena.

Source: Meu Timao

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”