Corinthians took advantage of two mistakes from Palmeiras to beat their rival 2-0 on Monday night (4) at Neo Química Arena, in a game valid for the 32nd round of the Brazilian Championship. With the victory, Ramón Díaz’s men ended an uncomfortable taboo that had lasted more than three years and managed to move further away from the relegation zone.
Corinthians’ last victory against Palmeiras was on September 25, 2021, for the return of the Brazilian Championship. Since then, there have been eight clashes, with five wins for Palmeiras and three draws.
With this Monday’s result, accompanied by more than 46 thousand fans in Itaquera, the black and white team reached 38 points and rose two positions, reaching 13th place in the league table. It was also the black and white team’s third consecutive victory in the championship — they had previously beaten Athletico-PR 5-2, and Cuiabá 1-0.
Palmeiras, on the other hand, was coming off a draw at Allianz Parque with Fortaleza and had the possibility of sleeping in the lead if they beat Corinthians away from home, but they stopped at 61 points and remained in second place. Leader Botafogo has 64 points and plays this Tuesday (5) against Vasco, at Nilton Santos.
In the fight for the top of the table, Abel Ferreira’s men put pressure on Corinthians from the beginning of the match, mainly through plays created by young Estêvão, 17, on the right wing, forcing goalkeeper Hugo Souza to work to avoid the team’s first goal. game.
Threatening Weverton’s goal basically via counterattacks, in another inspired night from striker Yuri Alberto, Corinthians opened the scoring in the 40th minute through Rodrigo Garro. Matheuzinho controlled the ball in the opponent’s penalty area after a poor cut by left-back Caio Paulista and passed it to the Argentine, who hit a strong low shot to score his 10th goal for Corinthians of the season.
The first half was also marked by a pig’s head that was thrown onto the field by the black and white fans, in the 28th minute, when Raphael Veiga was preparing to take a corner.
Yuri Alberto gave a light kick to get his head off the pitch. The suspect of throwing the object was taken by police to Jecrim (Special Criminal Court).
The second half started in the same vein as the first, with Palmeiras putting more pressure on Corinthians, again thanks to good plays by Estêvão.
At 10 minutes, however, the black and white team managed to expand on the counterattack. Garro darted down the right after a Palmeiras corner and crossed for Yuri Alberto. The striker took advantage of Weverton’s wrong exit from the goal to push the ball into the back of the net, further isolating himself as Corinthians’ top scorer in the Brazilian Championship, with nine goals. Next comes Garro, with seven.
Abel Ferreira also tried to recover with the entry of Rony, replacing Flaco López, and Dudu, replacing Felipe Anderson. Palmeiras created some more dangerous plays, hitting Hugo Souza’s post with a free kick from Gabriel Menino, but were unable to score against Neo Química.
It was the 20th meeting between Corinthians and Palmeiras at the stadium in the east of São Paulo, now with eight wins for the home team, six draws and six wins for the visitors.
In an interview after the final whistle, Yuri Alberto celebrated the result and said he was experiencing the best moment of his career.
“We come from three victories in the Brasileirão, this is very important. It gives us a lot of confidence to continue battling, fighting. It means continuing to advance, scoring. Advancing in the table, which is very important for us”, said the player in statements to Sportv.
He also said that he almost injured his foot when he kicked the pig’s head off the field. “I thought it was a pillow.”
Midfielder Raphael Veiga lamented that Palmeiras were unable to convert the attacks they created into balls in the net. “We had opportunities at the beginning of the game, but we didn’t take them. We lacked efficiency and then we ended up conceding the goal, which ends up complicating matters. Boring, difficult situation, we are upset, very irritated”, said Veiga as he left the pitch.
In the next round, Corinthians faces Vitória (12th place) in Salvador, on Saturday (9), while Palmeiras hosts Grêmio (11th) at Allianz Parque, on Friday (8).
