Striker and defender score as Corinthians beat Portuguesa in Atibaia | OneFootball

On the morning of this Sunday (12), Corinthians visited Portuguesa at Estádio Salvador Russani, in Atibaia, in the countryside of São Paulo, for its fifth match of the first stage of the 2026 Paulista Under-20 Championship, and won 2-0. Alvinegro’s goals were scored by forward Ryan Evaristo, in the 40th minute of the second half, and center-back Levy Dias. With the result, the Corinthians side now shares the lead of Group 1 with 13 points – alongside Ferroviária – with four wins and one draw, having scored six goals and conceded none.

Coach William Batista sent out the following lineup to start the match: Nicollas Siqueira ‘Nikão’; João Vitor ‘Jacaré’, Cauã Ribeiro (Levy Dias), Lorenzo, Jonathan ‘Dodô’ (Joãozinho); Pedro Thomas, Christian Oliveira (Gui Amorim), Caraguá (Luiz Gustavo Bahia) and Nicolas Araújo (Nicollas); Gustavo Corrêa (Luiz Fernando ‘Luizinho’) and Luiz Fábio ‘Favela’ (Ryan Evaristo). The bench options were: Matheus Corrêa, Levy Dias, Joãozinho, Luiz Gustavo Bahia, Cristian Jr, Gui Amorim, Luiz Fernando ‘Luizinho’, Nicollas and Ryan Evaristo.

Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Refereeing

The referee was Marcio Mattos dos Santos, assisted by Vladimir Nunes da Silva and Leonardo Tadeu Pedro. Ricardo Pereira Fernandes served as the fourth official. The tournament does not use VAR (video assistant referee).

Next match

After facing Portuguesa away from home in the state competition for the category, Corinthians now turns its focus back to the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship. Next Thursday (16), at 3 p.m., Timãozinho will visit Palmeiras at Arena Barueri. To advance directly to the semifinals, they will need to beat their rival by two goals. If they win by one goal, the decision will go to penalties.

First half

The opening minutes of the first half between Portuguesa and Corinthians were marked by heavy pressure from the Canindé side. Timãozinho, using an alternative lineup, suffered somewhat from a lack of chemistry, especially in defense. Even with their early superiority, Lusa was not effective in attack and failed to finish efficiently.

As time went on, the club from Parque São Jorge balanced the match and gradually began to get into the attacking half. The two main chances for the Sons of Terrão came through Luiz Fábio ‘Favela’ and Christian Oliveira. In the first, the number 9 was played through, dribbled past the goalkeeper and shot wide. In the second, Jonathan ‘Dodô’ took a corner from the right and Christian Oliveira headed toward the goalkeeper’s corner, but the Portuguesa keeper parried it away.

Overall, the first 45 minutes between the two sides were marked by little attacking inspiration and many misplaced passes, which kept the score level at 0-0.

Second half

To start the second half, coach Williiam Batista brought on midfielder Luiz Gustavo Bahia and forward Nicollas in place of Caraguá and Nicollas Araújo, respectively. The opening minutes of the second half saw Alvinegro trying to press in the attacking half, while Lusa circulated the ball in defense.

After two minutes, Favela was picked out with a high ball inside the box and challenged the Portuguesa goalkeeper, who gathered it and played out from the back. Shortly after, Timãozinho tried a move down the left when Dodô found Favela, who was offside. Next, Portuguesa tried two attacks down the right. In the first, goalkeeper Nikão came off his line to cover. In the second, center-back Lorenzo simply shielded the ball out over the byline, winning the physical duel with the Portuguesa player.

Soon after, forward Nicollas made an individual play and struck from outside the box, forcing the Portuguesa goalkeeper to palm it out for a corner! From the set piece, the keeper held onto the ball after it bounced around inside the six-yard box. In the 12th minute, Portuguesa tried a counterattack with Foguete, but the Corinthians defense cleared and launched a counter of its own. Favela was played in near the byline on the left, shielded the ball, got past his markers, and sent a cross toward the edge of the area, where there was no Corinthians player waiting.

Three minutes later, Felipe Gabriel received the ball at the edge of the box, shifted it onto his left foot, and had his shot blocked by center-back Cauã Ribeiro, who then won the loose ball cleanly from the attacker. Soon after, Cauã, Portuguesa’s goalkeeper, made a great save from a long-range shot by a Corinthians player coming in from the right, struck without much backlift. From the corner, Cauã Ribeiro, while trying to finish, ended up blasting the ball high and out of the area.

Before that corner, William Batista had made two more changes: Jonathan ‘Dodô’ and Christian Oliveira left the field, replaced by Joãozinho and Gui Amorim, respectively. Later, there were two more substitutions: Levy Dias and Luiz Fernando ‘Luizinho’ came on for Cauã Ribeiro and Gustavo Corrêa, in that order.

By the halfway point of the second half, the game looked much like it had in the first. Portuguesa and Corinthians were getting into attacking areas, but neither was very effective going forward and both created little danger for the opposing defenses. In the 26th minute, Nicollas received the ball and played Gui Amorim through. The number 20 went one-on-one with Cauã, who came off his line, challenged the midfielder, and won a goal kick.

In the 25th minute, Portuguesa threatened to put together some pressure in the attacking half, but the Corinthians defense handled it well and cleared the danger. After a cross into the box, Nikão came off his line and gathered the ball. The young Timão goalkeeper then launched Luiz Fábio ‘Favela’ in behind. The number 9 was played through and was fouled. Right after that, he left the field for forward Ryan Evaristo to come on – Timão’s fifth substitution.

In the 35th minute, Portuguesa got forward again. The opposing player dragged his shot well wide of Nikão’s goal. Shortly after, after a cross aimed at Foguete, he nodded it on and Felipe Gabriel shot over the Corinthians goal! In the 37th minute, Ryan Evaristo received the ball on the left and passed to Luiz Gustavo Bahia. The number 15 found Joãozinho, who spotted Gui Amorim inside. The number 20 then passed to Nicollas, who misplaced his pass while trying to play it through the middle.

In the 40th minute, Corinthians scored the opener! After a move down the right, the ball fell inside the box and forward Ryan Evaristo fired it into the back of Cauã’s net to put Alvinegro ahead. Shortly after, Timão attacked again down the left, with Nicollas receiving the ball at the edge of the box and blasting his shot over.

When the clock hit 90 minutes, five minutes of stoppage time were added. Soon after, Portuguesa nearly equalized through Foguete following a cross from the right. Then Levy Dias made a tackle near the left byline, giving Portuguesa a corner. From the set piece, the ball went past everyone after a touch from the Corinthians defense. In the final play, after a move down the left, Luiz Gustavo Bahia hit the crossbar and Cauã almost let it in. In the 95th minute, Timão got its second, as center-back Levy Dias went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and sealed the scoreline.

At the 95th minute, full-time! Portuguesa 0-2 Corinthians in the Paulista Under-20 Championship!

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