Corinthians midfield duo shine in Paulista derby v Santos

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Central do Timão

·23 gennaio 2026

Corinthians midfield duo shine in Paulista derby v Santos

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians ended up drawing with Santos 1-1 on Thursday night (22), at Vila Belmiro, in a match valid for the fourth round of the first phase of the 2026 Paulista Championship. Forward Yuri Alberto, at 16 minutes of the first half, scored the goal for the Alvinegro. The result left the Corinthians team in seventh place with five points (one win, two draws, and one loss – five goals scored and five conceded).

Even with the draw in the Alvinegro classic, Corinthians had two standout individuals in midfield: André Luiz and Matheus Pereira. The first, revealed in the Corinthians youth categories, has been part of the professional squad since the second half of last year and, so far, has three goals in 15 games for the main team. In the match against Santos, he was on the field for 90 minutes and received a score of 7.1 on Sofascore, a sports statistics app.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

The "Son of Terrão" accumulated the following numbers in the match: two key passes, 10/13 accurate passes (77%), 31 actions with the ball, five fouls suffered, six defensive contributions, one clearance, one interception, one blocked shot, four ball recoveries, 2/4 aerial duels won (50%), and 8/12 ground duels won. André was part of the squad that won the 2025 Copa do Brasil against Vasco at Maracanã. In the youth categories, his most important title was the 2023 U-17 Paulista Championship, when Timãozinho defeated São Paulo in the final at Parque São Jorge.

Matheus Pereira, on the other hand, returned to Corinthians – the club where he was revealed – after ten seasons, most of them playing abroad, until joining Fortaleza in the second half of 2025. He returned to Parque São Jorge on loan from the northeastern team until December 2026. In the game against Santos, he was on the field for 77 minutes until he was substituted by Charles.

In total, he had 31/34 accurate passes (91%), 6/6 accurate long passes (100%), 38 actions with the ball, two defensive contributions, 1/1 tackles won (100%), three ball recoveries, and 1/2 ground duels won (50%). Matheus Pereira made his re-debut for Corinthians in the Majestic last Sunday (18), at Neo Química Arena, in the third round of the state championship and participated in the equalizing goal scored by midfielder Breno Bidon, in the final stretch of the match.

Now, after drawing with Santos away from home, Corinthians remains focused on the Paulista Championship. Next Sunday (25), at 8:30 PM (Brasília time), the Alvinegro will visit Velo Clube in Rio Claro, for the fifth round of the first phase of the Paulistão.

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