Zanotti fires Corinthians to shock semi-final win over Gotham in Women’s Champions Cup | OneFootball

Corinthians earned a stunning victory against Gotham FC in the first semi-final of the inaugural Fifa Women’s Champions Cup, a goal from the 40-year-old Corinthians captain Gabi Zanotti in the 83rd minute the difference.

“Everyone was talking about maybe Gotham and Arsenal in the final but Corinthians are here and we played a very good game to beat the NWSL champions,” their manager, Lucas Piccinato, said. “We know what we can do.”

He is right. There has long been a desire to settle bragging rights between the WSL and NWSL as arguably the world best domestic women’s leagues and there was some desire for, though not expectation of, a Gotham v Arsenal final. Instead, Corinthians have upset the odds and they want more.

“It’s a momentous moment but we are planning for the final regardless of who we face and we want to leave England with the trophy,” Piccinato said.

The Gotham manager, Juan Carlos Amorós, said: “We wish them all the best. They came with a gameplan they executed, it worked for them and they won the game. On our side I think we also executed everything that we prepared. We dominated the game on every aspect but as we all know football is about goals, you need to score goals. If you don’t then you normally get punished and unfortunately that was the case.”

It was hardly teaming with fans on the way to Brentford’s Gtech Stadium for the semi-final double header, but a far from insignificant posse of Corinthians supporters made their presence known, arriving together in full voice before filing in to watch their Copa Libertadores winners take on the Concacaf Champions Cup winners.

The action on the pitch was far from thrilling, but that was to be expected with both teams in pre-season, Gotham’s brought forward to accommodate the tournament and Corinthians’ preparations well under way with their season kicking off on 7 February in the Supercopa do Brasil against Palmeiras.

With a place in the final at stake against the European Champions League winners, Arsenal, or the African Champions League winners, AS Far, alongside a bigger share of the $2.3m (£1.7m) prize pot, this is a tournament being taken seriously despite the logistical nightmare it has presented for those involved.

“The players have given absolutely everything they have,” Amorós said. “Everyone has, from ownership to the last staff member. They’ve put a lot of time and effort and sacrifice to make sure that we were prepared to win. For us, obviously the time of year is a bit challenging because it’s in the middle of our off-season. But we always say that we don’t look for excuses at Gotham, we look for solutions.”

Gotham began on the front foot, but Corinthians were far from playing second fiddle in a tight encounter and a strike by their Uruguay international Belén Aquino that slipped narrowly wide from the edge of the box inside 10 minutes was the first sign of their threat.

Gotham asserted their authority in the second half and had the better chances, with Emily Sonnett’s header blocked on the line.

As extra time loomed, threateningly for two teams that had not played a competitive fixture in two months (Gotham) and four months (Corinthians), the Brazilian champions dealt a hefty blow to their profligate opponents, whose decision-making in the final third was just that bit too slow, when Zanotti brought the ball down on the edge of the box before scoring past Ann-Katrin Berger. The block of Corinthians fans erupted, staff and substitutes joyous on the edge of the pitch.

Gotham pushed, and there was controversy at the close when a Gotham free-kick on the edge of the area provoked scenes which led to a red card for a member of the Corinthians staff. The American side could not find the equaliser from their final kick though, the effort wide of the post and the whistle blown straight after.

Huge credit has to be given to a battling and organised Corinthians, who had three key players unable to start after they were able to travel only on Sunday owing to visa issues. However, Gotham will rightly be left frustrated by a tournament that did not give them a fair chance, the American side not looking mentally or physically ready, and Fifa will be left wondering about the cost of the compromises made to shoehorn this competition into the calendar.

Header image: [Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA]