With a goal from Dutchman Memphis Depay, Corinthians beat Vitória 2-1 this Saturday (9), at the Barradão stadium, in Salvador, and reached 10th place in the Brazilian Championship, with 41 points. The black and white triumph, the fourth in a row, gave the team more momentum against relegation by momentarily moving up three places and establishing itself as a competitor for a place in next year’s Copa Sudamericana or Libertadores.
This is because the traditional G6 (group of the top six teams in the Brasileirão, which qualify for the Libertadores) could include three more clubs depending on the results of the finals of three championships this year: Libertadores, between Botafogo and Atlético-MG, Sul-Americana, between Cruzeiro and Racing (Argentina), and Copa do Brasil, between Flamengo and Atlético-MG.
As all Brazilian teams involved in the matches are above Corinthians —except Galo, who have two games in hand—, the black and white team from São Paulo could end up inheriting some of the places for the Libertadores. For the South American Championship, the six best placed teams are classified after the last one qualified for the Libertadores.
Despite the defeat in the direct confrontation at Barradão, Vitória dropped just one position, in 13th, and remains outside the relegation zone with five games remaining in the championship. Athletico-PR, with 34 points, is first in the Z4 and is still playing this Saturday, against São Paulo, but would not reach the red-black team, who has 38 points, even in the event of a victory.
At the beginning of the game, Thiago Carpini’s team put pressure on the team led by Ramón Díaz. At nine minutes, center forward Alerrandro took advantage of goalkeeper Hugo Souza’s mistake to open the scoring with a free goal. Corinthians responded at 23 with a play by Memphis Depay, Rodrigo Garro and Yuri Alberto, with the striker scoring with his left foot at the edge of the area.
The second half had at least two good chances not taken advantage of, one for each side, until Garro appeared again with an assist for Memphis to take goalkeeper Lucas Arcanjo and put it into the back of the net.
After the turnaround, Corinthians held on well to interrupt their opponent’s run of three wins.
The confrontation was still marked by confusion before and during the match. The bus that took the Corinthians delegation to the stadium was stoned by Vitória fans, in addition to reports that one of the Corinthians organizers had thrown a bomb towards the opposing stands.
In the next round, Corinthians will face Cruzeiro at the Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo, while Vitória will go to Santa Catarina to face Criciúma.
