Reigning champions through on penalties! Paulistão semi-final clashes set | OneFootball

The current Paulista champion almost said goodbye to the 2026 edition of the tournament this Sunday (22).

But Hugo Souza once again made the difference for Corinthians.

Playing at Canindé, he saved a penalty in regular time and saw Vitinho score the equalizer, 1 x 1 against Portuguesa, in stoppage time. 

Then, he saved two more penalties to secure Timão’s victory by 8 x 7 in the shootout.

This result set the semifinals matchups of the Paulistão – see below.

Hugo Souza, mistakes, and Lusa ahead

Portuguesa went into halftime with the lead. It was deserved for the team that worked the ball better.

Maceió was the first to stand out.

Next, Renê got past Hugo Souza before being brought down by him in the box.

The penalty was taken by the number 21 himself, but saw Timão’s goalkeeper come out on top (26’). 

It was the 12th penalty saved by Hugo for Corinthians out of 37 attempts. 

Persistent Lusa would score in the 38th minute. 

André Ramalho couldn’t clear Raniele’s long ball and Zé Vitor beat Hugo Souza.

Timão had more possession before halftime. But they fell short. 

Attempts and... Timão’s goal

With no other choice, Corinthians returned for the second half with Garro.

Hugo Souza saved João Vitor’s attempt and, right after, Corinthians started to press.

Dorival brought on Dieguinho, Vitinho, and Pedro Raul in succession. 

The striker had a great chance in the 28th minute, but missed the finish. 

The pressure continued. Without effect.

The main chances were Lusa’s, with Maceió.

Then Vitinho celebrated his long-awaited first goal in a Corinthians shirt in the 48th minute.

Penalties

Garro saw Bertinato save his shot – 0x0

Zé Vitor left Hugo Souza with no chance – 0x1

Vitinho gave Bertinato no chance – 1x1

Renê was frustrated by Hugo Souza again – 1x1

Matheuzinho sent the rival keeper the wrong way – 2x1

Botteghin hit the post directly, but then celebrated – 2x2

Gustavo Henrique coolly beat Bertinato – 3x2

Gustavo Henrique (from Lusa) showed his quality to score – 3x3

Pedro Raul almost saw Bertinato save, but celebrated – 4x3

Maceió showed plenty of personality to beat Hugo – 4x4

André Ramalho sent it to Bertinato’s left corner – 5x4

Hudson struck powerfully with no chance for Hugo – 5x5

Kayke showed composure to score – 6x5

Salomão found the side netting to celebrate – 6x6

André took his shot well to beat Bertinato – 7x6

Carlos Eduardo sent it through Hugo’s legs – 7x7

Allan shot to the left corner – 8x7

Cauari saw Hugo Souza save with his feet – 8x7

Semifinal matchups 👇🏽

Novorizontino (19 points and a goal difference of seven) and Palmeiras (19 points and a goal difference of five) kept the best and second-best campaigns, respectively, after knocking out Santos and Capivariano.

Meanwhile, São Paulo waited for the last semifinal spot.

The Tricolor entered the knockout stage with the sixth-best campaign and depended on what happened at Canindé to know if they would have the third or fourth-best overall performance. 

Corinthians’ qualification on penalties gave SPFC the third-best campaign (16 points)

Securing a derby against Palmeiras.

Timão ended up with the fourth-best campaign (15 points).

Which left the matchups as follows:

Best campaign – Novorizontino 🆚 Corinthians – fourth-best campaign

Second-best campaign – Palmeiras 🆚 São Paulo – third-best campaign 

Single matches scheduled for Sunday (1).

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

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