Corinthians are beaten 2-0 by Platense and lose their unbeaten record in the Libertadores

O Corinthians lost their unbeaten record in the Libertadores with a 2-0 home defeat to Platense. It was the first setback do time with Fernando Diniz playing at Neo Química Arenawhere the black and white team’s last defeat was against Dorival Júnior.

The São Paulo team made a first half ineffective. Titular, Memphis Depay took little action. The draw already pleased Platense, who nullified the home team. Franco Zapiola had a gala performance, with two goals. THE Corinthians reaction was delayed and it was insufficient in front of an Argentine boom.

Despite the result, Corinthians maintained the lead in Group E, with 11 points. Platense qualified for the round of 16 in secondwith 10, in his first participation in the Libertadores. Santa Fe beat Peñarol 1-0 also this Wednesday (27), guaranteed third place, with eight points, and will compete in the South American playoffs. The Uruguayans only scored three points, without winning a single match.

Before the World Cup break, Corinthians visits Grêmioon Saturday (30), for the 18th round of the Brazilian Championship. It’s a direct confrontation in the fight against the Z-4. Both have 21 points, but the Gauchos have a better goal difference.

The first half was truncatedwith fouls on both sides. Chances were rare in the face of two well-positioned defenses, especially on the Argentine side. Corinthians even kept the ball more, but without effectiveness.

One of Platense’s few arrivals resulted in a corner from the Argentine team. In the raised ball, Hugo Souza made a mistake and did not clear it. He recovered, but not before the ball hits Rodrigo Garro’s open arm. Alexis Herrera went to VAR and signaled penalty. Franco Zapiola displaced the Corinthians goalkeeper and opened the scoring with class.

The Corinthians tried to reactbut without frightening the Argentines, who defended themselves with solidity and intensity to recover. The black and white players also exaggerated mistakes in the last pass before creating a clearer chance. The ball was often blocked by the Corinthians midfielders. At the end of the first stage, there was still time for the Platense likes the game more and even surpasses Corinthians in submissions (six to five).

Memphis Depay left the game at half-time. Called up by the Dutch national team for the World Cup, the striker did little on the field. It was limited to one shot, easily saved by goalkeeper Matías Borgogno. The player seemed slow, without resources to get rid of marking and showing a lack of rhythm in the game. It was just the second game de Memphis after muscle injury.

Kaio César and Zakaria Labyad were Diniz’s alternatives to change the game after the break. The first renewed the team’s tactics, replacing Raniele. The Moroccan entered Memphis’s place with the hope of maintaining the brilliance of recent games. The problem is that, on the other side, Platense also changed and tightened its grip even more.

The Argentine team did not need to attack to expand. It was enough for Zapiola to be close to Hugo Souza and Matheuzinho when the goalkeeper tried to pass to the full-back and delivered it to the midfielder’s feet. From the edge of the area, shirt 10 kicked and covered the goalkeeper to score his second of the night.

The Corinthians team’s design on the field was different, but the arrivals depended on individual plays by Kaio César. The team’s midfield was poorwith successive passing errors from the other players. Rodrigo Garro, who usually finds spaces in different plays, was unable to show his brilliance.

With 10 minutes to go, controversy. Kaio César created a chance for Yuri Albertocrossing into the area. The attacker shared with the opposing defender and fell. Alexis Herrera was called for a penalty, but only scored a goal kick. Soon after, number 9 was replaced by Pedro Raul and left the field booed.

It was left for Corinthians to appeal for the aerial ball. At 40, Pedro Raul received a cross, but headed it over goalkeeper Matías Borgogno. Insisting on showers, the team took a penalty when Tomás Silva cleared the ball and Breno Bidon fell in the area. Alexis Herrera went to VAR to cancel the call after verifying that the midfielder had not been hit. It was the last chancesince Platense closed itself until the end.

TECHNICAL SHEET

CORINTHIANS 0 X 2 PLATENSE

CORINTHIANS – Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho, Gabriel Paulista, Gustavo Henrique and Matheus Bidu; Allan (André Carrillo), Raniele (Kaio César), Breno Bidon and Rodrigo Garro (Jesse Lingard); Memphis Depay (Zakaria Labyad) and Yuri Alberto (Pedro Raul). Coach: Fernando Diniz.

PLATENSE – Matías Borgogno; Agustín Lagos (Juan Ignacio Saborido), Ignacio Vázquez, Víctor Cuesta, Tomás Silva; Iván Gómez (Santiago Dalmasso), Maximiliano Amarfil, Martín Barrios and Franco Zapiola (Santiago Quirós); Juan Gauto (Mateo Mendia) and Nicolás Retamar (Leonardo Heredia). Technician: Walter Zunino.

GOALS – Franco Zapiola, 20 minutes into the first half and 11 minutes into the second half.

REFEREE – Alexis Herrera (VEN).

YELLOW CARDS – Matheuzinho and Allan (Corinthians); Agustín Lagos and Juan Gauto (Platense).

PUBLIC – 38,996 present.

INCOME – R$ 2.909.567,98.

LOCAL – Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo (BRA).