Corinthians down Ponte Preta, open Paulista with a win | OneFootball

Corinthians got off to a great start in the 2026 Campeonato Paulista. Even with important absences, Timão dominated Ponte Preta on Sunday afternoon at Neo Química Arena and won their first match in the State Championship 3-0, with goals from Gustavo Henrique, André, and André Ramalho.

Dorival Júnior had problems setting up the team. In total, there were five absences: Yuri Alberto, Memphis Depay, Rodrigo Garro, José Martínez, and Raniele. The coach decided to give some young academy players a chance, and they rose to the occasion.

Standings

With this result, Corinthians start the Paulistão in second place on the table, with three points. The alvinegro team is only behind leaders São Bernardo, who thrashed Capivariano in their debut.

Meanwhile, Macaca is stuck in the tournament's second-to-last spot.

📋 Match Summary

⚫⚪ CORINTHIANS 3 X 0 PONTE PRETA ⚪⚫

🏆 Competition: Campeonato Paulista (Round 1) 🏟️ Venue: Neo Química Arena, São Paulo (SP) 📅 Date: January 11, 2025 (Sunday) ⏰ Time: 4:00 pm (Brasília time) 👥 Attendance: 37,089 fans 💰 Revenue: R$ 2,482,182.90 🟨 Yellow Cards: Gustavo Telles and Pacheco (Ponte Preta); Charles (Corinthians) 🟥 Red Cards: None

Refereeing

Goals:

⚫⚪ Corinthians

Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho (João Vitor Jacaré), André Ramalho, Gustavo Henrique, and Matheus Bidu; Charles, André (Ryan), Carrillo (Dieguinho), and Breno Bidon; Vitinho (Kayke) and Gui Negão (Pedro Raul). Coach: Dorival Júnior

⚪⚫ Ponte Preta

Diogo Silva; João Gabriel, Pacheco, Saimon, and Diego Leão (Pedrinho); Rodrigo Souza, Gustavo Telles (Nikolas), and Elvis; Diego Tavares (Serginho), Bruno Lopes (Lukinha), and Jeh (Damião). Coach: Marcelo Fernandes

How was the match?

Spurred on by the crowd, Corinthians dominated the start of the match and threatened for the first time at the 13-minute mark. After a well-worked play, Matheuzinho received the ball from Vitinho at the edge of the box and fired a low shot with his right foot, but Diogo Silva saved.

Then, at 21 minutes, Charles found a good pass to Matheus Bidu, who burst down the left and crossed perfectly for Vitinho in the six-yard box. However, the striker missed. Timão threatened again ten minutes later, when Carrillo advanced down the right and crossed into the box, but no one was there to finish.

Ponte threatens at the end

Corinthians eased the pressure after the hydration break, and the match became more controlled. From then on, Ponte Preta started to get into the game and gave Hugo Souza some work in the final minutes of the first half.

At 44 minutes, Jeh broke on a counterattack and shot hard, but Hugo saved. Soon after, following a scramble in the box, the ball deflected off Matheus Bidu’s foot and headed toward goal. To the relief of the Fiel, Timão’s goalkeeper reacted quickly and pushed it away.

Corinthians press, but the goal won’t come

Corinthians came back from halftime pressing Ponte, but the ball just wouldn’t go in. Six minutes into the second half, Matheus Bidu found a beautiful cross for Gustavo Henrique, who headed towards goal but was denied by a good save from Diogo Silva.

Bidu even found the net in the next play, after a corner kick. However, the goal was disallowed for offside.

Persistence pays off…

As the saying goes, “water dripping on stone wears it away.” And sure enough, at eight minutes, Timão finally opened the scoring through Gustavo Henrique. Vitinho took a corner and found the defender’s head, who put it in the corner, leaving Diogo Silva with no chance.

Corinthians extended the lead at 17. After a good exchange of passes, Gui Negão reached the byline and tried to cross, but was blocked by the defense. The ball fell to Matheuzinho, who blasted it and saw Diogo save. However, on the rebound, André simply tapped it into the empty net for the home side’s second.

Gui Negão scored another at 30, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on goalkeeper Diogo Silva. However, in stoppage time, André Ramalho tried his luck from way out and found the corner: a screamer. The goal sealed a great debut for Dorival Júnior’s team this season.

Corinthians

Ponte Preta

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