Corinthians score twice early, hold off Cruzeiro in Brasileiro U20 | OneFootball

Corinthians faced Cruzeiro on Saturday afternoon (20) at CT Toca da Raposa in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, in a match valid for the 17th round of the first phase of the 2026 Brazilian Under-20 Championship, and won 2-1. Alvinegro’s goals were scored by midfielder Luiz Gustavo Bahia and center-back Yago Melo, both in the first half.

With the result, the Corinthians side moved up from eighth to sixth place with 28 points — eight wins, four draws, and five losses — with 29 goals scored and 22 conceded. Coach William Batista sent out the following lineup to start the match: Matheus Corrêa; Guilherme Pellegrin (Levy Dias); Iago Machado, Yago Melo and Joãozinho; Caraguá (Gustavo Correa), Pedro Thomas, Luiz Gustavo Bahia (Guilherme Pires) and Gui Amorim (Christian Oliveira); Luiz Fernando ‘Luizinho’ and Luiz Fábio ‘Favela’.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel/Agência Corinthians

The bench had the following options: Nicollas Siqueira ‘Nikão’, Lorenzo Correa; Cauã Ribeiro, Levy Dias, Lucca Vaz, Christian Oliveira, Guilherme Pires, Jonathan Rodrigues ‘Dodô’, Gustavo Corrêa, Cristian, Wilker and Nicolas Araújo. The opponent took the field with: Vitor Lamounier, Nicolas, João Cervi, Kelvin and Pedrinho, Dayvinho, André and Eduardo Pape; Ruan Índio, Rhuan Gabriel and Pablo.

How the match went

Part of the first half between Corinthians and Cruzeiro was marked by few chances, with the defenses getting the better of the attacks. As the match went on, Timãozinho improved and scored twice through Luiz Gustavo Bahia and Yago Melo. The first goal came in the 22nd minute, when Bahia received the ball in midfield and unleashed a rocket into the top corner past the Cruzeiro goalkeeper.

The second came in the 33rd minute, when Luizinho won a corner on the left side, the ball bounced around inside the box and fell to Yago Melo at the far post to poke it into the back of the net. In the second half, the Sons of Terrão looked to protect the lead through solid marking in midfield, preventing the home team from creating plays.

Cruzeiro pulled one back in the 31st minute through Ruan Índio, who was free inside the box and headed into the net after a cross from Nicolas on the right. The opponent controlled the final minutes and tried to find an equalizer, but the score remained in favor of the club from Parque São Jorge.

Next match

Corinthians now remain focused on the Brazilian Under-20 Championship. Next Thursday (25), at 3 p.m. (Brasília time), they will face Flamengo at Estádio Alfredo Schürig, Fazendinha, in a match valid for the 18th round of the competition’s qualifying phase. The Rio club sits in 10th place with 26 points.

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