Analysis: Luxembourgian pragmatism finally cost Corinthians, and it is now wiped out | Corinthians

Corinthians de Luxemburgo has questionable options and obvious limitations. He always was, even in the undefeated stage. In the classics, these options and limitations were exposed by an opponent more organized and aware of the importance of the Brazil Cup semi-final. The team went in not to play and when they tried to play, it was too late. Luxa himself admitted.

The only differences from the previous match were Fausto Vera in the starting line-up in place of Gabriel Muscardo and the positioning of Adson and Ruan Oliveira, but this time it was reversed. The defensive and midfield duo did not work against Coritiba, but Luxa insisted. And an error occurred again.

Corinthians did nothing until they conceded the first goal. There have been successive Sao Paulo arrivals in the middle, especially with Lucas Moura in a loose marking position between the two defensive midfielders. The struggle ended only when Casio missed a throw-in, and Wellington Rato opened the scoring with a kick. The hard lead in the first leg lasted 12 minutes.

Only then did Corinthians exchange passes on the field of attack for the first time, but there was nothing more elaborate. The only chance to equalise was Murilo’s header in a corner kick, in the 20th minute, but Sao Paulo was still responsible for the classic.

The second goal was a clear example of the difference in construction between the two teams. Adson disarmed Nestor at the start of the play and gave Corinthians time to position himself, but even then Lucas Moura’s points weren’t reduced. Fausto and Maicon distanced themselves from the number 7 jersey, which ran back to Rato and ran into the area to finish the match.

In the aggregate score, Corinthians started to get the ball only after five substitutions. Wesley finally arrived on the left, Rojas was already on the right, and the wingers made the team play better – again, as it was three days ago.

The singing exchanges changed the game against Coritiba, but in the classics it was too late. This was Rojas’ first shot on goal for Corinthians, already at the 37th minute of the second half, when Rafael flew in to spread the ball out. Maicon and Giuliano had chances inside the area, but they missed. There was a lot of ball in the area in injury time, but this time it wasn’t enough to make up for the mistakes.

Corinthians have spent the past few matches without limits. In some of them the result appeared to be suffocating, as in the previous stages of the Brazil Cup itself, but in others the chaos was higher, as happened in the last-minute equalizer in Beira-Rio. The signs were visible.

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