Ninth straight day, Corinthians go tactical, eye Brasileirão six-pointer | OneFootball

On the morning of this Saturday (3), Corinthians’ squad held its ninth straight day of training since returning, at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava, during the FIFA break — a pause in the Brazilian football calendar. The team returns to action next Wednesday (7), at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at Beira-Rio, to face Internacional in a direct clash against relegation in the 29th round of the Brazilian Championship.

The Corinthians squad began the day’s activities with a tactical instruction video in the Flexform Briefing Room. Afterwards, there was a gym activation session and a possession drill as a warm-up. Then, the group was split into three teams of eight for small-sided matches.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

This Saturday’s training still did not include Hugo Souza, Matheuzinho, Breno Bidon, and André Carrillo. The first three were with the Brazil national team during this FIFA break, and the latter is with the Peru national team, which is playing friendlies in the United States. Number 19, although called up by La Bicolor, is recovering from a muscle injury. The trio that was with the Seleção is expected to be available for next midweek’s match.

Corinthians’ medical department currently has the following players: midfielder Zakaria Labyad and forward Kayke. Both are recovering from cruciate ligament injuries in the knee and will only return to action in 2027. Meanwhile, center-back André Ramalho, midfielder Vitinho, and forward Yuri Alberto have already recovered from injury and are training normally with the squad.

Lastly, head coach Fernando Diniz used the tactical exercise to improve behaviors and decision-making in game situations. The club from Parque São Jorge will have a day off from training this Sunday (4) and will return to activities on the morning of next Monday (5), at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava.

Until the end of the season, Corinthians will only be competing in the Brazilian Championship and will need to start picking up points again to move away from the relegation zone. On October 7, next Wednesday, Alvinegro, seeking a win after six defeats in the competition, will visit Internacional at Beira-Rio Stadium in the 29th round of the national tournament. At the moment, Timão sits only in 14th place with 32 points — eight wins, eight draws, and 12 defeats — with 29 goals scored and 32 conceded. The team from Rio Grande do Sul is in 18th place, inside the bottom four, with 28.

Crisis during the season, declining numbers under Fernando Diniz, and the fight against relegation

The club from Parque São Jorge has not won in the Brazilian Championship since August 9, when it beat Red Bull Bragantino 2-0 at Estádio Cícero de Souza Marques in the 22nd round of the competition, with goals from midfielder Rodrigo Garro and forward Pedro Raul. Since then, there have been six straight defeats — Cruzeiro (H – 1 x 2), Coritiba (A – 2 x 1), Santos (H – 0 x 1), Chapecoense (H – 1 x 2), Flamengo (A – 2 x 1), and Fluminense (H – 1 x 3). This run of consecutive losses had not happened since 2006 and caused the Corinthians side to go from fighting for a G5 spot — a qualification zone for the 2027 Libertadores preliminary round — to battling against relegation.

Corinthians’ last win of the season came on August 20, when they beat Rosario Central-ARG 1-0 at Neo Química Arena in the second leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores round of 16. Since then, there has been one draw (Estudiantes-ARG) and six defeats (Coritiba, Santos, Chapecoense, Flamengo, Estudiantes-ARG, and Fluminense) — the team’s second-worst winless run of the year.

Since Fernando Diniz arrived at Corinthians in early April, the club has recorded 13 wins, 10 draws, and 11 defeats — 36 goals scored and 31 conceded, which represents a 48% success rate. In his first seven matches in charge, Diniz had five wins and two draws, without conceding a single goal. Before the break for the World Cup, Alvinegro had a 64.5% success rate under the coach — nine wins, four draws, and three defeats.

The scenario, however, has changed. Since the return, there have been four wins, eight draws, and eight defeats — a 33.3% success rate. In this stretch came eliminations in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil and the quarterfinals of the Libertadores, against Internacional and Estudiantes-ARG, respectively.

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