Tápia opened the scoring for the visitors, but Breno Bidon equalized the score at the end of the match
Corinthians’ most targeted name since winning the Copa do Brasil, Breno Bidon avoided what would be a frustrating and rare defeat at the Neo Química Arena against São Paulo, where the Corinthians lost to their tricolor rival only once in history. The goal scored by the midfielder in the 44th minute of the second half made the classic played this Sunday, valid for the third round of Paulistão, end in a 1-1 draw.
With the result, the two teams are tied with four points, in the middle of the table, but Corinthians is ahead, because they have an advantage on goal difference.
The Corinthians’ next commitment is in Vila Belmiro, where they will face Santos on Thursday, 22nd, one day after the duel with Portuguesa that São Paulo will face, Wednesday, at MorumBis.
The São Paulo team went to the field two days after the club’s president, Julio Casares, had his impeachment approved by the Deliberative Council, on Friday. In previous matches, amid the tricolor political upheaval, squad leaders, like Luciano, openly said that the turbulent environment was reaching the players.
Playing a classic at their rival’s home, therefore, added more drama and weight to the tricolor moment, a context with which the Corinthians are very familiar, as they went through a strong political crisis throughout 2025. There was, in fact, a certain insecurity on the side of São Paulo, and Corinthians took advantage of this.
With Yuri Alberto falling a lot on the left and Breno Bidon stepping close to the half-moon to look for the submission or the last pass, the black and white team managed to be incisive when they had the ball at their feet, although they had less possession. A foul suffered by Bidon near the area generated one of the best chances for the black and white team, from Matheus Bidu.
The exchange of tricolor passes, in turn, was carried out most of the time between the defense field and the midfield. Errors with the ball even generated opportunities for the Corinthians.
Failures appeared in all forms in São Paulo, such as a poorly made cut by Arboleda that covered Rafael and only failed to trigger a Corinthians goal because Yuri headed wide when sharing with Alan Franco. Yuri also faced danger on the counterattack, winning with speed and sending a cross to Rafael’s defense.
São Paulo had its best moment at the end of the first half, when it managed a sequence of balls sent into the rival area, and made good use of it. Tapia opened the scoring by heading in between two Corinthian markers and putting it into the net.
Without changing the game’s configuration, Corinthians continued well and had two chances to equalize with Matheuzinho, first with a beautiful shot from outside the area and then with a wasted opportunity, one-on-one with Rafael.
The second half started with some nervousness for the home team, which reflected the restlessness of part of the fans, especially as the game became very truncated, with many fouls and stoppages. In this way, São Paulo controlled the match and took much fewer risks than they did during the first half, to the point that Rafael was barely used throughout the first half of the final stage.
Between hasty decisions and the slowness to follow through on moves that could have been more acute, Corinthians came a long way from showing the same football they showed before the break. Only in the final minutes did things get back on track for the black and white side. Back in the team after a loan to Ceará and needing to prove himself, Pedro Raul came off the bench and was important in participating in the table that left Breno Bidon well positioned in the area to beat Rafael with a flat shot.
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