Trave and Cássio save Corinthians in the Sudamericana – 08/29/2023 – Sport

On a night when Estudiantes hit the bar six times while Corinthians barely gave the Argentine team’s goalkeeper a hard time, the team from São Paulo won a heroic classification this Tuesday (29) and advanced to the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana, with a victory on penalties.

In normal time, the Argentine team had the chance to thrash the Brazilian team, especially for their performance in the first half, when, in addition to a goal, they hit three balls on the crossbar. In the second half, in addition to the post, which once again saved the Corinthians, Cássio also made a series of important saves.

The 1-0 victory, however, only returned the score by which the Paulistas won the first leg, at the Neo Química Arena, and ended up taking the decision to penalties.

In the dispute, the Argentines hit two balls on the post, Cássio defended a charge and the Corinthians won by 3 to 2.

In the next phase, Corinthians will face the winner of the confrontation between Fortaleza and América Mineiro. In the first game, in Minas, the people from Ceará won by 3 to 1. The return match will take place on Thursday (1).

The result eases the pressure on coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, questioned since the fall of the Parque São Jorge team in the semifinal of the Copa do Brasil, against São Paulo.

The failure in the attempt to seek the national cup increased the importance of fighting for the Copa Sudamericana title and, therefore, a new disqualification this Tuesday could shorten the coach’s passage through the São Paulo club.

Despite the classification, however, the way Corinthians played against Estudiantes led to a series of criticisms of the coach on social networks. Many questioned the lineup, while others warned of the opponent’s dominance in the match.

The Argentines had 30 submissions against only 7 for Corinthians. The numbers reflect the attitude of the Brazilian team, determined by the way the team was chosen.

As soon as the ball rolled, attention was drawn to Renato Augusto’s positioning. Instead of having the midfielder in the creation sector, where he acts as a conductor, the coach advanced the number 8 shirt, so that he was almost isolated in front.

On the left, Romero barely managed to control the ball. On the right, Matias Rojas tried to look for spaces after Renato Augusto himself guided his teammate’s positioning. At the edge of the pitch, watching the team be dominated, and escaping a rout only by luck and the beam, Luxemburgo did little.

After the break, however, the coach made two changes. He drew Romero and Ruan Oliveira and fielded Yuri Alberto, a surprise among the reserves, and Wesley. But, mainly, he repositioned Renato.

If it wasn’t enough to redeem themselves from the apathetic first half, when in addition to the goal conceded with just 50 seconds, scored by Mauro Méndez, and seeing three other shots hit the crossbar by Cássio, at least it made the São Paulo team more present on the field attack.

Especially because it would be difficult to reduce even more the production presented in the first 45 minutes, when there was a finalization against 17 of the hosts, eight of them with danger to the black and white goal.

Even so, the Argentines still managed to hit one more ball on the post, while Corinthians didn’t have any great missed chances to regret.

As time went by, the Argentines became tired, while the Corinthians at least managed to hold on to the result that forced the decision by penalties.