Fortaleza achieved a valuable 1-1 draw with Corinthians this Tuesday (26), at Neo Química Arena, in the first game of the Copa Sudamericana semi-final.
Midfielder Zé Welison (22′), with a header, put the team from Ceará ahead, but striker Yuri Alberto (40′) equalized for the São Paulo team in the first half.
“It was difficult, but thank God we managed to get a great draw,” said the center forward after the match.
Led by Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Corinthians did not take advantage of the home advantage to gain an advantage in the match and will now have to decide their place in the final at Castelão, in Fortaleza.
Whoever qualifies will face for the title on October 28th, in Maldonado (Uruguay), the winner of the duel between LDU from Ecuador and Defensa y Justicia from Argentina, who compete in the other semifinal.
Fortaleza better in the first half
The Brazilian duel showed, from the beginning, the game ideas of both teams: Corinthians giving up the initiative, but attentive to taking advantage of spaces; Fortaleza pressing the ball out and with offensive DNA.
‘Timão’ had the entire squad available, except for the last-minute absence of Paraguayan midfielder Matías Rojas due to injury.
The experienced Renato Augusto was once again the team’s maestro, although he was discreet in the first minutes due to Fortaleza’s good defensive work.
The ‘Tricolor de Aço’ didn’t take long to be rewarded for its proposal, translated into dominance of ball possession and presence in the opponent’s field.
After Marinho took a corner from the right, Zé Welison got the better of the Corinthians defense to head firmly past goalkeeper Cássio.
At first, Uruguayan referee Esteban Ostojich invalidated the shot due to an alleged push by the Fortaleza midfielder on left-back Fábio Santos, but the goal was confirmed five minutes later after a VAR review.
Yuri Alberto ties
The disadvantage forced Corinthians to change their stance. Renato Augusto took responsibility and found spaces in Fortaleza’s defense with precise passes, until one of them led to the equalizer.
Full-back Fagner performed a beautiful individual play in the defense field and passed the ball to the Corinthians number 8, who launched Yuri Alberto deep.
The striker received it, invaded the area and hit a cross into the right corner of goalkeeper João Ricardo.
After the break, the São Paulo team tried to put pressure on and moved up their lines in search of victory, while Fortaleza closed in, but without failing to give Cássio trouble with shots from outside the area.
Even with the support of the fans, Corinthians faced little danger and will now have to go to the capital of Ceará without a built-in advantage at home.
In turn, the people from Ceará seemed satisfied with the draw, which is no small feat against one of the teams that most asserts its command on the field.
Fortaleza and Corinthians face each other in the second leg next Tuesday (October 3), at Castelão, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time).
Datasheet
Copa Sudamericana 2023 – Semifinals – First leg
- Corinthians – Fortaleza 1 – 1
- Local: Neo Química Arena (São Paulo)
- Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
- Goals: Corinthians: Yuri Alberto (40′) Fortaleza: Zé Welison (22′)
- Yellow cards: Corinthians: Lucas Veríssimo (39′), Gabriel Moscardo (63′), Renato Augusto (90’+5) Fortaleza: Emmanuel Britez (57′), William (67′), Bruno Pacheco (88′)
- Corinthians: Cássio (cap) – Fagner, Gil, Lucas Veríssimo, Fábio Santos, Gabriel Moscardo (Gustavo Mosquito 65′) – Giuliano, Renato Augusto, Maycon, Wesley (Ángel Romero 55′) – Yuri Alberto. Coach: Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
- FortalezaJoão Ricardo – Tinga (cap), Emanuel Britez, Titi, Bruno Pacheco – Ze Welison (Lucas Sasha 78′), Caio Alexandre (Pedro August 79′), Marinho (Yago Pikachu 53′), Tomás Pochettino (Calebe 71′) , William (Imanol Machuca 71′) – Juan Martin Star. Technician: John Paul Vojvoda.
© Agence France-Presse
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