Corinthians struggle up front, missed penalties worry Dorival | OneFootball

An old ghost has come back to haunt Corinthians at the start of this season: lack of efficiency. In the derby against Palmeiras, for example, Timão was superior to their rival but failed to take advantage of the opportunities created and even saw Memphis Depay miss a penalty.

According to data from Sofascore, Corinthians creates 2.4 chances per match, with an average of 1.9 missed opportunities per game. In the Derby, inefficiency proved costly for Corinthians, who lost 1-0 and remained winless in derbies this year. Moreover, it also raised an alert for the coaching staff.

The lack of effectiveness in front of goal is not a new problem for Timão. Last season, this issue became especially clear in the Brazilian Championship. Out of an average of 2.1 chances created per game, an average of 1.3 were wasted per match, according to the statistics platform. Inefficiency also cost the team points, as they finished last season in 13th place.

“Look, it’s not for lack of training or effort. We show offensive organization, as we are creating chances. The finishing is a bit beyond the coach’s context. It’s the final touch, a detail, a movement, an anticipation. All of this depends on the moment of the play and it’s natural that it comes down to the player’s balance on the field,” said Dorival Júnior in a press conference after the defeat.

“But we’re going to take this moment and improve this aspect, which is fundamental for us. Even in many games that we won, we had some difficulties, and sometimes a small mistake leads to a reaction against our goal,” added the coach.

Poor penalty conversion worries coach

In the derby against Palmeiras, Corinthians missed another penalty this season. Unlike the last attempt, Memphis took the shot but slipped and sent it wide. The missed penalty was costly for Alvinegro, who lost their first derby in 2026.

This was not the first penalty Corinthians missed this year. In the match against Santos at Vila Belmiro, Yuri Alberto had the ball at his feet and also shot wide – the match ended in a 1-1 draw. So far in 2026, Timão has not converted any of their penalties.

The poor penalty record is also a negative carryover from last season. Last year, Corinthians had nine penalties awarded in their favor, with five scored and four missed, totaling a conversion rate of 55.5%.

The four missed penalties were as follows: Romero (against Velo Clube, in the Paulista Championship); Memphis (against Mirassol, in the Brazilian Championship); and Yuri Alberto (against Palmeiras, in the Copa do Brasil round of 16, and Flamengo, in the Brazilian Championship).

If we add up the penalties between 2025 and 2026, Corinthians has missed six out of 11 penalties awarded in their favor. Dorival Júnior admitted concern over the poor numbers but absolved Memphis of blame in the derby against Palmeiras.

“There is concern, naturally, especially because we are missing too many. We need to improve. That only comes with repeated training, and we train every day. So it’s up to the players to repeat more, improve even further in their shots. I think it’s a necessity. In this particular case, Memphis slipped, it was very clear. There was no way he could be balanced,” the coach assessed.

Upcoming Corinthians matches

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