Trio return for Corinthians in goalless draw with Vitória | OneFootball

On Saturday night (18), Corinthians visited Vitória at Barradão Stadium in a match valid for the 12th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship, and the score remained goalless. The draw extended Alvinegro’s winless streak in the competition to nine matches and dropped the team into the relegation zone, sitting in 17th place with 12 points – two wins, six draws and four losses – with eight goals scored and 11 conceded.

In tonight’s match, three players returned to action for Corinthians and took the field for the first time under Fernando Diniz: right-back Pedro Milans, midfielder Matheus Pereira and forward Kaio César. The first replaced Matheuzinho, who was sent off in last weekend’s Derby, and played for 63 minutes. In total, he has now made six appearances in a Corinthians shirt, with his previous one coming on March 19, in a 0-0 draw with Chapecoense at Arena Condá, in the seventh round of the Brasileirão.

Photos: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

Graphic: Central do Timão

During this period, he was used less frequently by the team’s then-head coach, Dorival Júnior, and even suffered a sprain in his left ankle, which kept him off the bench for the matches against Platense, of Argentina (Libertadores) and Palmeiras (Brazilian Championship). In the others, against Flamengo, Fluminense, Internacional and Santa Fé – in the Brasileirão and Libertadores – he was among the substitutes but did not take the field.

According to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, the Uruguayan, who was signed by Corinthians at the start of this season after a spell with Peñarol (Uruguay), posted the following numbers in tonight’s match: seven defensive contributions, three clearances, three interceptions, one blocked shot, six ball recoveries, 2/4 ground duels won (50%), 1/2 aerial duels won (50%), 34 touches, 1/2 successful dribbles (50%), 1/1 accurate long balls (100%) and 14/19 accurate passes (74%) – rating of 6.8.

Matheus Pereira

Corinthians’ No. 23 had not played since April 5, when Alvinegro were beaten 1-0 by Internacional in Itaquera in the 10th round of the Brasileirão, in the match that marked head coach Dorival Júnior’s dismissal. As a result, he took the field for the first time under Fernando Diniz, who was managing Timão for the fourth time tonight – he had remained on the bench in the matches against Platense-ARG (Libertadores), Palmeiras (Brasileirão) and Santa Fé-COL (Libertadores).

Against Vitória, he came on in the 10th minute of the second half, replacing Breno Bidon and posting, according to Sofascore: 16/18 accurate passes (89%), 2/3 accurate long balls (66%), 21 touches, one clearance, one defensive contribution and one ball recovery. His rating in the app was 6.8.

A product of Corinthians’ youth academy, Matheus returned to Corinthians in 2026 after standing out for Fortaleza last year and gaining experience with clubs in Europe. In total, he has made 17 appearances for the club from Parque São Jorge – 14 of them this year. He is on loan from the northeastern side until December.

Kaio César

The winger, meanwhile, had not played for Corinthians since March 15. On that day, he was one of Timão’s standouts in the 1-1 draw against Santos at Vila Belmiro in the sixth round of the Brasileirão. This was only his fourth match for Alvinegro, with two assists provided. Since then, he had been recovering from pre-fibrotic inflammation resulting from a muscle injury in his left thigh, suffered on February 6 in the 3-0 win over Capivariano in Itaquera, in the first phase of the Paulista Championship.

On loan from Al-Hilal, of Saudi Arabia, until the end of this season, with a purchase option, the No. 37 replaced Pedro Milans in the match against Vitória and was on the field for 26 minutes. According to Sofascore, he recorded the following numbers: 5/5 accurate passes (100%), 12 touches, two fouls won, four carries and 3/3 ground duels won (100%). His rating in the app was 6.8.

Next match

After a goalless away draw with Vitória in the Brazilian Championship, Corinthians will now turn their focus to their debut in the 2026 Copa do Brasil – a tournament in which they are four-time champions (1995, 2002, 2009 and 2025). That is because next Tuesday (21), Tiradentes holiday, Alvinegro will face Barra, from Santa Catarina, at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), in the first leg of the fifth round of the national knockout tournament, at Ressacada Stadium.

In the Brasileirão, Corinthians will return to action only next Sunday (26), at 4 p.m. (Brasília time), to face Cruz-Maltino at Neo Química Arena in the 13th round of the league.

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