Kaio César shines for Corinthians in recent weeks, says platform | OneFootball

Throughout the night last Wednesday (9), Corinthians traveled to Jorge Luís Hirschi Stadium to face Argentina’s Estudiantes in La Plata for the first leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores quarterfinals and came away with a 1-1 draw. The result means the Corinthians side now needs only a simple win in the second match to advance. The two teams will meet again next Wednesday (16) at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Neo Química Arena.

In the opening chapter of the knockout stage, Corinthians’ goal was scored by forward Kaio César four minutes into the second half after a beautiful through ball from midfielder Rodrigo Garro. According to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, Timão’s number 37 has stood out among all players in the squad since August. In that span, he leads in successful dribbles (26), duels won (28), fouls suffered (28), shots (15) and, on the other hand, ranks third in key passes (10).

Photos: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

With the goal scored in the latest match, the winger ended an 11-game drought without contributing to a goal for the club from Parque São Jorge. Before that, his last contribution had come on July 23, when the Parque São Jorge club beat Remo 3-0 at Neo Química Arena in the 19th match of the national competition – he scored the second goal.

Kaio César, it is worth remembering, is on loan at Corinthians from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal until the end of the season, with a purchase option of six million euros (just over R$30 million). The 22-year-old arrived at Parque São Jorge in search of more playing time, something he had not been getting with the Saudi side, bringing pace on the flanks, a trait that had been lacking in the Corinthians squad until then. Developed in Coritiba’s youth academy and standing out with Coxa’s first team, he also played abroad for Vitória de Guimarães (four goals and eight assists in 47 games) and Al-Hilal (four goals and six assists in 39 matches).

Overall, he has three goals and two assists in 28 matches (17 as a starter) wearing the Timão shirt, with 11 wins, nine draws and eight losses – 50%. He was part of the squad that won the Supercopa do Brasil against Flamengo at Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasília – a 2-0 victory. In that match, he provided the assist for Yuri Alberto to score the second goal. After Fernando Diniz arrived in early April, he gradually established himself as a starter.

With Kaio César available to Fernando Diniz, Corinthians now turns its attention to the Brazilian Championship before facing Estudiantes again in the second leg of the Libertadores quarterfinals next midweek. This Sunday (13), at 5:30 p.m. (Brasília time), the Parque São Jorge club visits Flamengo at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro for the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship. Timão currently sits in 12th place with 32 points – eight wins, eight draws and 10 losses – 27 goals scored and 27 conceded – having been defeated in its last four matches in the tournament.

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