In a dull match, Corinthians take their only chance to beat Fluminense

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Central do Timão

·14 September 2025

In a dull match, Corinthians take their only chance to beat Fluminense

By Daniel Keppler / Central do Timão Editorial Staff

On the evening of this Saturday, the 13th, Corinthians returned to the field for the Brazilian Championship. In a match valid for the 23rd round, Timão visited Fluminense at Maracanã Stadium and, in a game where they were under pressure from the opponent for most of the time, ended up being efficient in attack, winning 1-0 with a goal from André Ramalho after a free kick by Matheuzinho.

With this result, Alvinegro reached 29 points in the tournament, now with seven wins, eight draws, and eight losses, climbing to ninth place in the standings, even overtaking Fluminense itself, which has one point less. Timão has also scored 24 goals and conceded 28 in the championship.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

Corinthians Lineup and Absences

Among the regular starters, Raniele (transition), Breno Bidon (suspension), and Memphis Depay (thigh edema) were absent. Luiz Gustavo Bahia (ankle edema), Charles (pain in the right knee), José Martínez (trauma to the left ankle), and André Carrillo (recovering from a ligament injury in the left ankle) complete the list of absences.

Given this, coach Dorival Júnior lined up Corinthians with Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho, André Ramalho, Gustavo Henrique, Angileri, and Matheus Bidu; Ryan, Maycon, and Vitinho; Kayke and Gui Negão. On the bench were Felipe Longo, Félix Torres, Rodrigo Garro, Yuri Alberto, Romero, Cacá, Talles Magno, Hugo, João Pedro, André, João Vitor, and Dieguinho available.

Fluminense Lineup

Coach Renato Gaúcho sent out a Fluminense side composed of Fábio; Júlio Fidelis, Ignácio, Igor Rabello, and Gabriel Fuentes; Otávio, Facundo Bernal, Lima, and PH Ganso; Santi Moreno and Germán Cano.

Refereeing

The referee was Felipe Fernandes de Lima, assisted by Fernanda Nandrea Gomes Antunes and Felipe Alan Costa de Oliveira. The fourth official was Emerson Ricardo de Almeida Andrade and VAR was handled by Daniel Nobre Bins.

First Half

Even away from home, Corinthians started the game with an aggressive stance, pressing high and trying to control the play. As a result, Fluminense's first offensive move took a while to happen, occurring at the 11th minute. Meanwhile, the Alvinegro attack struggled to turn plays into goal-scoring chances.

At 15 minutes, Fluminense began to assert themselves in possession and press the Corinthians defense, mainly through their midfielders. Up to this point, however, the game remained tight, with the goalkeepers barely working due to a lack of dangerous shots.

In the final part of the first half, however, this changed. At 30 minutes, Cano tested Hugo Souza with a header inside the box, and shortly after, Ignacio also forced the Corinthians goalkeeper into action with a powerful shot.

The Rio team kept searching for the first goal, leaving Corinthians pinned back in defense and unable to launch counterattacks. Even so, the Alvinegro defense succeeded in neutralizing the opponent, and the referee ended the first half with the score still 0-0.

Second Half

Coach Dorival Júnior made two changes to Corinthians for the second half, bringing on André Luiz and Yuri Alberto in place of Kayke and Vitinho. However, the first minutes after the changes did not show any major improvement for the team, which remained under pressure from Fluminense.

And the pressure resulted in a very dangerous chance at 11 minutes, when the ball fell in the box after an attacking play and André Luiz intervened, preventing the shot. Timão could not organize their ideas, leaving Yuri Alberto isolated up front, not receiving the ball.

With that, Dorival made two more changes at 18 minutes, bringing on Talles Magno and Romero for Matheus Bidu and Gui Negão. With this, the coach made a tactical adjustment, aiming to exploit counterattacks. The strategy, however, did not work, and Fluminense's pressure continued, with Hugo Souza ensuring the partial draw with important saves.

Until, at 27 minutes, Alvinegro surprised: Matheuzinho took a free kick from far out on the left. The ball traveled across the Fluminense box, André Ramalho appeared to try to deflect it, and the shot went straight into Fábio's goal, who didn't even move: Corinthians 1 x 0!

Right after the goal, the team made their last change with Hugo coming on for Maycon. With the advantage on the scoreboard, Corinthians became more comfortable defending, leaving Fluminense with the ball to attack, something the team struggled to do with any real danger.

The pressure from the home side lasted until the end, but the game went on with the Corinthians defense standing firm to prevent Fluminense's advances. And so, after added time, the referee ended the match, confirming the 1-0 score and a crucial away win for Timão.

Next Fixture

After facing Fluminense, Corinthians return to the field next Sunday, the 21st, at 5:30 pm (Brasília time), against Sport, at Ilha do Retiro, for the 24th round of the Brasileirão. The Brazil Cup fixtures will only take place in December, after the end of the championship.

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