Analysis: Corinthians change approach, battle away and clinch vital win | OneFootball

By Thais Bueno

At the end of the 90 minutes, what was recorded was the triumph of Corinthians over Vitória last Saturday, 1-0, right at Barradão. Timão was far from putting on a good performance, but they competed and showed a different attitude from other away matches. The Alvinegro found victory in a scramble, with Charles finishing off a loose ball into the net. In a hard-fought game, the win came in the best ‘Corinthians style’, as the midfielder said.

Poor first half

With the absences of Maycon and especially Matheuzinho, Corinthians started the match with a new improvisation at right-back, this time with José Martínez. Dorival also surprised by starting Carrillo, who had recovered from injury, in the starting lineup. Raniele, meanwhile, played as a defensive midfielder and, on some occasions, acted as a third center-back.

Timão started with more possession, but it was very passive at first. Vitória, on the other hand, didn’t seem worried about giving the ball to the Alvinegro and tried to set up counterattacks after winning the ball in the attacking third. From the 15th minute onwards, however, the match became more balanced.

With almost 30 minutes played, the game had offered very little excitement. Vitória improved, while Corinthians seemed to get worse. Timão couldn’t even get past midfield, with possession extremely concentrated in defense and zero clear chances on goal – even with the trio Memphis, Yuri, and Garro on the field. On top of that, the team made many mistakes bringing the ball out from the back, giving Vitória counterattack opportunities, which they failed to capitalize on.

After 40 minutes of a very physical and scrappy match, Corinthians created their first clear chance of the first half. Matheus Bidu got a loose ball in the six-yard box and shot from point-blank range, but Thiago Couto, who replaced Lucas Arcanjo, made a great save.

Still in stoppage time, Corinthians got excited by the scoring chance and attacked Vitória again. Yuri Alberto found himself one-on-one with Thiago Couto and did everything right: he dribbled the goalkeeper but finished terribly wide. The number 9’s luck was that the linesman flagged for offside. Overall, the first half was poor technically for both teams. The defenses, however, stood out.

Corinthians struggle, but find victory

Corinthians returned for the second half unchanged and began to suffer more defensively, especially due to Vitória’s pressure, as they needed a result to get out of the relegation zone. Felipe Longo was forced to make a great save from an Aitor shot, preventing a goal for Vitória. Timão continued to make many passing errors, leading to some dangerous moments for the home team.

As in every away game, Timão found it difficult to dictate play. The Alvinegro didn’t create much and had a below-par performance, it’s true, but at least showed a change in attitude – something the fans had been demanding. The players didn’t hold back in most duels and engaged in a tough, physical battle with Vitória.

In the 34th minute of the second half, things got even more complicated for the Alvinegro, as Breno Bidon was sent off. The Corinthians squad had to work even harder defensively with a man down. The team kept a clean sheet despite the opponent’s pressure thanks to two factors: solid defending and Felipe Longo, who made important saves throughout the match.

And near the end of the match, Corinthians found the winning goal. Garro took a corner into the box and Thiago Couto punched the ball away. The rebound fell to Memphis, who crossed it back in. After a scramble, the ball went up and Charles headed it into the back of the net, giving Timão the win. In the final minutes, Felipe Longo made another fantastic save to secure the victory for Corinthians.

Thus, Corinthians found a crucial result and jumped up the Brasileirão table. Despite clear difficulties, the team responded to the fans’ demands, competed again, and improved their attitude as visitors. Now, the question remains whether Timão can maintain this consistency until the end of the competition.

Corinthians’ position in the standings

With this result, Corinthians achieved their second consecutive win for the first time in the Brazilian Championship. Timão rose to ninth place in the standings and reached 39 points, moving away from the relegation zone and, at least for now, appearing in the upper half of the table.

Upcoming Corinthians matches

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