Corinthians slip in second half, snatch draw against Botafogo

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Central do Timão

·30 de novembro de 2025

Corinthians slip in second half, snatch draw against Botafogo

By Daniel Keppler / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the afternoon of this Sunday (30), Corinthians returned to the field for the Brazilian Championship. In a match valid for the 36th round of the competition, the Alvinegro hosted Botafogo at Neo Química Arena and, in front of 37,000 fans, opened the scoring, suffered a comeback, and managed to recover to tie the duel 2-2. The goals were scored by Raniele and Gustavo Henrique.

With this result, the Alvinegro reached 46 points in the national tournament, climbing to ninth place in the table. Now, Corinthians has 12 wins, ten draws, and 14 losses in the Brasileirão, in addition to 40 goals scored and 44 conceded. The team is two points behind São Paulo, currently in eighth place, and could still be overtaken by Atlético-MG, who still play this round.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

Corinthians’ Lineup and Absences

Timão had only two absences for the match: forward Memphis (bone edema in the left knee), and midfielder José Martínez (suspended due to a third yellow card). On the other hand, the team counted on the return of left-back Matheus Bidu and midfielder Maycon, who recovered from injury.

Given this, coach Dorival Júnior chose the following team to start the match: Hugo Souza, Matheuzinho, João Pedro Tchoca, Gustavo Henrique, and Matheus Bidu; Raniele, Breno Bidon, André Carrillo, and Rodrigo Garro; Dieguinho and Yuri Alberto.

The bench had the following options: Felipe Longo, André Ramalho, Fabrizio Angileri, Romero, Carrillo, Cacá, Vitinho, Charles, Talles Magno, André, Gui Negão, and Maycon.

Botafogo’s Lineup

Coach Davide Ancelotti fielded the following team to start the match: Léo Linck; Mateo Ponte, Marçal, David Ricardo, Cuiabano, Newton, Marlon Freitas, Savarino, Artur, Joaquín Correa, and Kadir.

Refereeing

The man with the whistle was Jonathan Benkenstein Pinheiro (RS), assisted by Rafael da Silva Alves (RS) and Michael Stanislau (RS). The fourth referee and VAR were, respectively, Jefferson Ferreira de Moraes (GO) and Marco Aurelio Augusto Fazekas Ferreira (MG).

First Half

Corinthians started pressing and already in the first play showed danger. Right in the opening minute, Rodrigo Garro crossed to the far post for Gustavo Henrique, who stretched out and headed wide. The persistence paid off shortly after: at six minutes, goalkeeper Léo Linck played a risky ball to Newton as they tried to play out from the back. Raniele intercepted and the ball fell to Dieguinho, who returned it to Raniele: 1-0 for Timão!

Botafogo seemed to react four minutes later, breaking down the left and finding Joaquín Correa in the box. The forward headed it, but with no support, the Corinthians defense cleared easily. However, Corinthians soon regained control, returning to attack.

At 14 minutes, for example, Garro took a tight shot from the edge of the area, forcing Léo Linck to punch it away. Soon after, Breno Bidon played a one-two with Garro, entered the box, and shot, but Botafogo’s defense managed to block. In the next play, in another quick run, Matheuzinho tried from distance and forced Léo Linck into a great save, sending the ball out for a corner.

The visitors responded dangerously at 17, in a run by Joaquín Correa that created a clear three-on-one chance. The attack was stopped by a saving tackle from Matheuzinho, who sent the ball out for a corner in a decisive play. Shortly after, at 21, Savarino even scored the equalizer, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Timão remained dangerous. At 32, after a foul by Ponte on Bidu, a rehearsed play from Garro to Matheuzinho resulted in a powerful shot and save by Linck. On the rebound, João Pedro Tchoca shot, but Fogão’s defense blocked again. Four minutes later, a good move by Dieguinho on the right found Bidu free on the left. The full-back crossed, Bidon headed alone in the middle of the area, but with no one to finish in front of him.

In the final minutes, Botafogo tried to press. At 38, Correa headed powerfully at the near post, the ball just missing Hugo Souza’s crossbar. At 41, from a free kick by Correa, the Corinthians goalkeeper came out of the six-yard box to clear with a touch, and the defense cleared the next play. Thus, the game went to halftime with Timão leading 1-0.

Second Half

The second half began with the visitors attacking. In the very first minute, Cuiabano broke down the left and crossed low, but no one was in the box to finish. Corinthians responded right after, when Raniele, from the edge of the area, fired a rocket that grazed Léo Linck’s crossbar.

At 12 minutes, Botafogo had a golden chance from a free kick by Artur, but the shot was poor, ending up in the stands. Two minutes later, however, the visitors showed efficiency. Montoro received alone in the middle, sent Cuiabano down the left, and the full-back, one-on-one with Hugo Souza, placed it into the net to tie the game.

Dorival Júnior tried to change the game with two substitutions, bringing on Maycon and André for Breno Bidon and Carrillo. However, it was the opponent who scored: after a play by Montoro, Allan crossed into the box and the midfielder himself scored with a volley to turn the game around.

Timão almost conceded a third in a quick counter-attack by Barrera, who crossed for Arthur Cabral to shoot wide. Then, little by little, the Alvinegro reorganized. At 27, Gustavo Henrique deflected a cross and João Pedro Tchoca shot hard, but Arthur Cabral cleared off the line. Next, number 13 headed into the net, but the play was ruled offside.At 29, Dorival made three more changes for Corinthians, bringing on Gui Negão, Vitinho, and Angileri for Dieguinho, Garro, and Matheus Bidu.

Until, at 36, Corinthians equalized: after an individual play by Vitinho, who dribbled past two defenders on the left, the ball reached Gustavo Henrique. Alone, the center-back calmly finished to find the net and score Timão’s second! Botafogo complained that the ball had gone out of play, but VAR confirmed the goal was valid.

In the final minutes, Botafogo still tried for the winning goal. At 44, Santi tried a direct free kick, saved by Hugo Souza. At 50, Barrera tried to score with a volley after a rebound in the box. In the last play of the game, Arthur took a free kick into the Corinthians area, which the defense cleared without danger. Thus, the match ended in a 2-2 draw in Itaquera.

Next Fixture

After facing Botafogo at home for the Brazilian Championship, Corinthians will remain focused on the national competition. Next Wednesday (3), at 7pm (Brasília time), the Alvinegro will visit Fortaleza at Arena Castelão for the 37th and penultimate round of the national competition.

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