Kaio César shines on Corinthians return in derby v Santos | OneFootball

On the afternoon of this Sunday (15), Corinthians went to Vila Belmiro to face Santos FC, in a match valid for the sixth round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship, and drew with a score of 1 x 1. The goal for the Alvinegro was scored by striker Memphis Depay, at 18 minutes of the first half, after a counterattack. The result leaves the Corinthians team, provisionally, in sixth place with eight points – two wins, two draws, and two losses – six goals scored and six conceded.

Despite the draw, the match marked the return of striker Kaio César to the pitch. The number 37 hadn’t played since February 5th, when he felt muscle discomfort and was substituted early in the match against Capivariano, in which the Alvinegro won 3 x 0, in Itaquera, for the sixth round of the first phase of the Paulistão. Later, he was diagnosed with a grade 2 injury in the posterior muscle of his right thigh.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

Since then, he had missed the matches against Palmeiras (H), Red Bull Bragantino (H), São Bernardo (A), Athletico-PR (H), Portuguesa (A), Cruzeiro (A), Novorizontino (A), and Coritiba (H). The matches were valid for the Brazilian Championship and Paulista, respectively. In this Sunday’s match, against the team from Baixada Santista, he played for 63 minutes and provided his second assist wearing the Corinthians shirt, until he was replaced by midfielder Rodrigo Garro near the middle of the second half.

According to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, he received a rating of 6.6, accumulating throughout the match: 12/16 accurate passes, 28 actions with the ball, three fouls suffered, 5/8 ground duels won, 2/2 aerial duels won, and one shot on goal. The 21-year-old winger was one of Corinthians’ main highlights in the match, being responsible for the team’s main offensive plays in the game, making use of his main attribute: speed down the flank.

Kaio César was signed by Corinthians at the start of this season to strengthen the offensive system, which needed a ‘speedster’ on the wings. The player arrived on loan from Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia, until the end of this season, with a purchase option at the end of the contract. The youngster was developed in the youth ranks of Coritiba and, besides the Arab world, played for Vitória de Guimarães, in Portugal.

In three games with the Corinthians shirt (two of them as a starter), he has two assists and one title: the 2026 Supercopa do Brasil, against Flamengo, at the Mané Garrincha Stadium, in Brasília. After drawing with Santos away, in the Brasileirão, Corinthians keeps its focus on the Brazilian Championship. Next Thursday (19), at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), the club from Parque São Jorge visits Chapecoense, at Arena Condá, for the seventh round of the national competition.

Corinthians 2026 Assist Ranking

1) Rodrigo Garro – three assists

2) Kaio César – two assists

3) Matheuzinho, Yuri Alberto, Matheus Bidu, Memphis Depay, Dieguinho, Gustavo Henrique, Vitinho, Ryan, and Pedro Raul – one assist each

See More:

Corinthians News

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