Corinthians struggle in attack without Yuri Alberto in 2026 | OneFootball

On the night of last Wednesday (11), Corinthians were defeated by Coritiba, 2-0, at the Neo Química Arena, in a match for the fifth round of the Brazilian Championship. The loss left the Corinthians team in tenth place with seven points – two wins, one draw, and two defeats. Now two games without scoring, the Alvinegro sees its offensive performance worsen when Yuri Alberto is not on the field in the 2026 season.

It’s worth noting that the number 9 hasn’t played since February 15, when he suffered a grade 2 injury to the left thigh biceps femoris during Corinthians’ 1-0 victory over São Bernardo FC at Primeiro de Maio, in the last round of the first phase of the 2026 Paulista Championship. That day, he came off the bench at the 17th minute of the second half, participated in the play that led to André’s goal, but was substituted at the 27th minute by defender Gabriel Paulista after feeling muscle pain.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

According to data released by Sofascore, a sports statistics app, Corinthians this year has the following numbers when the number 9 is on the field: four wins, two draws, and three losses – a 51.9% success rate. In this period, nine goals were scored and eight conceded. Additionally, the team created 21 big chances, took 123 shots – 40 of them on target.

On the other hand, when they don’t have the center forward, the club from Parque São Jorge has: three wins, two draws, and two losses – nine goals scored and five conceded, with a 52.3% success rate. However, despite having a slightly better overall performance without the striker in 2026, the offensive numbers are lower. In the matches he didn’t play, the Alvinegro created only 10 big chances and took 84 shots – 27 of them on target.

In an interview last Friday (13), the striker confirmed he will remain sidelined for the derby this Sunday (15), at 4pm (Brasília time), against Santos at Vila Belmiro, for the sixth round of the Brazilian Championship. At the same time, he stated he expects to be among those listed for the match next Thursday (19), against Chapecoense, at Arena Condá, for the seventh round of the national competition.

Yuri Alberto was signed by Corinthians in mid-2022, initially on loan from Zenit, Russia. At the start of 2023, he was bought outright in a deal involving five other players. Since then, in 216 games for Corinthians (184 as a starter), he has scored 79 goals and provided 22 assists. He is the club’s top scorer in the 21st century and the player with the most goals in the history of the Neo Química Arena (49).

Furthermore, he played a key role in the team’s surge in the 2024 Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Pre-Libertadores) – top scorer of the tournament that year with 15 goals and of Brazil, with 31 goals scored, also being decisive in winning the Paulista Championship (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026).

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