Even facing a richer opponent, favorite and with a more expensive squad, Corinthians resisted difficulties off the field, imposed their game and won the Supercopa Rei by beating Flamengo 2-0, this Sunday (1st), in Brasília, with goals from Gabriel Paulista and Yuri Alberto.
The duel was played at Mané Garrincha, in front of an audience divided between black and red fans. With a capacity for 72,788 people, the stadium received caravans from both teams, with emphasis on the Corinthians mobilization: just organized fans, 101 buses left São Paulo heading to the Federal District. In total, the duel received 71,244 people.
On the field, the clash pitted the champions of last season’s two main national competitions face to face. Flamengo reached the final of the Supercopa Rei accredited by the 2025 Brazilian Championship title, won by the team led by Filipe Luís with 79 points, three more than Palmeiras. Corinthians secured a place in the decision after ending the year by winning the Copa do Brasil, won against Vasco, in a final played at Maracanã.
Despite the similar condition in the sporting aspect, Corinthians and Flamengo live different financial realities. While the São Paulo club faces budget limitations and a scenario of greater cost containment, the Rio team relies on a much higher investment power, which keeps it as a recurring protagonist in Brazilian football.
This difference was evident even in the preparation for the season. In the same week that Corinthians withdrew from a negotiation due to lack of cash, Flamengo completed the most expensive signing in the history of Brazilian football by repatriating Lucas Paquetá, for R$260.5 million. The midfielder started the decision on the bench and was called into action in the second half.
Even so, in the planning of both teams, the Super Cup was treated as a priority at the start of the season. Corinthians, however, had to deal with a setback in the week leading up to the clash. Moments before the ball rolled, coach Dorival Júnior revealed that players and members of the coaching staff were affected by a “very strong” virus in the days before the match. According to the coach, 26 people were affected, including athletes and members of the committee, and four players were left out of training on Saturday (31).
“We had a setback in the last two days, with 26 members, including committee and athletes, with a very strong virus. This took us a little by surprise, for a match of such importance”, said Dorival to SporTV.
Despite the scenario, Corinthians managed to enter the field with the formation considered ideal, with just one change in defense: Gabriel Paulista formed the defensive duo with Gustavo Henrique. And it was precisely the newly hired player who opened the scoring, 26 minutes into the first half.
With the advantage, the São Paulo team began to control the pace of the match and become more present in the attacking field. At the end of the first stage, the black and white team complained about an attack by Carrascal on Breno Bidon. Despite the expectation of a VAR analysis, the referee did not signal an infraction at that time.
Shortly after the break, however, the referee took action. Before the start of the second half, referee Rafael Klein went to the VAR monitor to review the incident involving the two players, which occurred at the end of the opening half. The images showed the Flamengo player slapping the Corinthian athlete in the face and, after checking, the Colombian was sent off.
With one more player, Corinthians started to put pressure on. In the 14th minute of the second half, the team almost increased the score. Yuri Alberto received a cross inside the area and finished one-on-one with Rossi, who made a great save. On the rebound, Memphis finished again and stopped at the Uruguayan goalkeeper again. On the third attempt, the Dutchman pushed the ball into the net, but the referee ruled that Yuri Alberto was offside as the result of the move.
The advantage would give the Corinthians team more peace of mind, but even so, the team managed to hold off Flamengo’s momentum to take the victory. In stoppage time, Yuri Albeto had a chance to score, but this time he hit the post.
In stoppage time, however, number 9 was able to celebrate. After a counterattack, he came face to face with goalkeeper Rossi, took a hat and scored with a header.
Despite being a title fight in a single match, the Supercopa Rei guaranteed the clubs a good prize pool. Each received R$6.35 million for participating in the decision. The champion also secured a bonus of US$1 million (around R$5.2 million), paid by Conmebol.
