São Paulo, 22 (AE) – With an extra player since the 20th minute of the first half, Corinthians took a while, but managed to find themselves on the field and, thanks to defender Gil, beat Botafogo 1-0, this Friday – fair, at Neo Química Arena, for the 24th round of the Brazilian Championship. The match, which saw the debut of the new and criticized Corinthians third uniform, in yellow, was also marked by a sentence from Marçal, a player from Botafogo, who, upon being sent off, pointed out “theft” against his team.
The victory takes Corinthians to 10th place in the Brasileirão, opening a six-point lead over Santos, who opens the relegation zone (30 to 24). The positive result brings relief to coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, under pressure from his position, and encourages fans in the South American Championship, the next challenge on Corinthians’ agenda
The result also represents help from Corinthians to Palmeiras and Grêmio, who fuel the persecution of leader Botafogo. It was the third consecutive defeat in the national tournament for the Cariocas, who have seven points more than the Palmeiras and eight points ahead of the Gremistas.
“The most important thing is the victory. We needed it after bad results. We must be calm. Now it’s time to celebrate, but we have a very difficult game on Tuesday (against Fortaleza in the Sudamericana), we will keep our feet on the ground. We were happy to come out with the victory”, said Gil after the game.
Corinthians started the duel by imposing themselves as home team and controlling the match. Botafogo was trapped in the defense field and managed sporadic attacks. On the field, the first minutes showed the Luxembourg team with a greater appetite than seen in previous duels. The atmosphere in Itaquera favored the São Paulo team even more when, in the 20th minute, left-back and Botafoguense captain Marçal was sent off after hitting Pedro with the studs of his boot. When leaving the field, the player said, towards a camera: “That’s robbery.”
In numerical superiority, Corinthians offered new dangers to the defense of the Brasileirão leader. Quick plays emerged as a solution, while Botafogo bet on counterattacks. However, the home team still lacked effectiveness, and the strategy of maintaining a more robust defensive structure proved to be a mistake. Lucas Perri did little work.
Corinthians definitely did not take advantage of the advantage throughout the first half. The problem wasn’t just creative. The team lost the energy it demonstrated before Marçal’s expulsion and did not launch the attack in a resounding manner. A team used to struggling for 90 minutes didn’t seem comfortable with the task of imposing itself. Full-backs Méndez and Bidu lacked support in offensive moves.
After the break, Luxemburgo gave up midfielder Gabriel Moscardo to encourage creativity. Renato Augusto entered the field to change the outlook of the duel. Fagner was chosen to replace Veríssimo, pulling Méndez into defense and allowing the experienced full-back to have a greater offensive presence, as the team had demanded since the opening stage.
Corinthians started to risk more shots from outside the area. Renato Augusto and Rojas tried and made the fans sigh. The black and white insistence had an effect. Gil played as a center forward. After Bidu’s cross, the defender headed the ball, but Perri made a great save. On the rebound, the defender put his foot forward to fill the net and open the scoring in the 14th minute.
With the score favorable, Corinthians slowed down, but continued with a consistent stance. Renato Augusto and Rojas led the offensive initiatives, making use of their technical quality and finishing power, unparalleled in the São Paulo team’s squad. Yuri Alberto only reinforced his bad phase and hindered the Corinthians attack more than it helped.
Botafogo tried some individual speed plays, but were unsuccessful. From above, he was in more danger. Cássio had to be called several times when the lights were turned off. The tension, from both sides, made the atmosphere heat up between players from both teams in the final minutes, when the Cariocas launched a blitz in search of a draw. The Corinthians victory, however, had already been achieved.
Corinthians’ next challenge is in the Copa Sudamericana, on Tuesday, at 9:30 pm. Once again at the Neo Química Arena, the São Paulo team welcomes Fortaleza to begin the dispute for a place in the final of the continental tournament. Botafogo has a nine-day break until their commitment to Goiás in the Brasileirão. The match takes place on October 2nd, a Monday, at 8pm
DATASHEET
CORINTHIANS 1 x 0 BOTAFOGO
CORINTHIANS – Cassio; Bruno Méndez, Gil, Lucas Veríssimo (Fagner) and Matheus Bidu (Fábio Santos); Gabriel Moscardo (Renato Augusto), Maycon and Matías Rojas; Wesley (Romero), Pedro (Gustavo Mosquito) and Yuri Alberto. Coach: Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
BOTAFOGO – Lucas Perri; Di Plácido (Júnior Santos), Adryelson, Victor Cuesta and Marçal; Marlon Freitas (Gabriel Pires), Tchê Tchê, Eduardo and Victor Sá (Carlos Alberto); Luis Henrique (Hugo) and Tiquinho Soares (Diego Costa). Coach: Bruno Lage.
GOAL – Gil, 14 minutes into the second half.
YELLOW CARDS – Gabriel Moscardo, Gil, Fagner, Yuri Alberto, Marlon Freitas, Adryelson, Tchê Tchê and Diego Costa.
RED CARD – Marçal.
REFEREE – Paulo Cesar Zanovelli (Fifa-MG).
INCOME – R$ 2,311,037.08.
AUDIENCE – 37,237 fans.
LOCATION – Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo.
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