Corinthians and Flamengo draw goalless in Itaquera and leave the final of the Copa do Brasil open

In the first of the two games of the decision of the Copa do Brasil 2022, Corinthians and Flamengo could not get the zero score in Itaquera. Even with a very busy game, the good performance of the goalkeeper Cássio was decisive for the duel to end 0-0.

The alvinegro goalkeeper made at least three difficult saves and prevented the Corinthians team from being leaked at Neo Química Arena. The presence of the goalkeeper in the match, in fact, came to be in doubt until the eve of the game. He had pain in his right foot and needed treatment to be on the field.

Open, the title decision was for the return game, in a week, in Rio de Janeiro, on the 19th, at the Maracanã stadium, also at 21:45. In case of a new equality, the definition will be on penalties.

This is the second time the two teams have decided on a title. The first was in 1991, when the clubs competed in the Supercup. Corinthians, the 1990 Brazilian champion, took the trophy after beating Flamenguistas, then champions of the Copa do Brasil, 1-0. Neto scored the title goal.

That decision, however, did not have the same dimension with which the current dispute has been treated, especially due to the importance of the national knockout. In addition, the champion of the tournament will still earn a direct spot in the 2023 Copa Libertadores.

In this year’s edition, by the way, the two teams met in the playoffs of the continental and the team from Rio got the best, with two victories in the confrontation for the quarterfinals. In Itaquera, they won 2-0 and, in Maracanã, the triumph was 1-0.

This time, there was more balance in the first game of the decision. Although the team from Rio got the best opportunities of the initial stage, the team from São Paulo reacted and built good chances to open the score, being the best with Yuri Alberto and Renato Augusto.

On the visitors’ side, Gabigol had the clearest opportunity, but stopped in good anticipation of Cássio.

Even with 15 chances created, however, both teams barely hit the target to avoid a goalless score before the break. While the Corinthians demanded two saves from goalkeeper Santos, the red-black team hit three shots on target.

In the final stage, Gabigol hit the target and demanded from Cássio the most difficult defense of the game until then, at 12 minutes. Léo Pereira made a throw to Éverton Ribeiro, who propped his head towards the middle and the attacker appeared free to finish. The Corinthians goalkeeper saved almost in scare.

Shortly after, Cássio was practically without reaction when David Luiz hit a shot from outside the area and the ball hit the crossbar. By then, with 20 minutes in, the visitors seemed closer to opening the scoring in Itaquera. Even so, the owners of the house managed to withstand the moment of pressure.

Despite the encouragement of the crowd, who attended in weight — there were more than 45,000 tickets sold — the home owners managed to produce little in the second half. The team’s creativity was even more impaired when Vitor Pereira decided to remove Renato Augusto and Róger Guedes halfway through the final stage.

In the final minutes, however, the Corinthians tried to pressure to seek the first goal and were in trouble with the referee in the 35th minute, complaining about a penalty, when Mateus Vital crossed the ball in the area and it touched Léo Pereira’s hand. After checking the VAR, the referee ordered the game to continue.

Shortly before the final whistle, already at 40 minutes, the light in the Corinthians arena went out and the match was paralyzed for about ten minutes, before being resumed. The tie, however, persisted until the end.

In addition to the great presence of the public in the stands, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, was in Itaquera at the invitation of the president of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), Ednaldo Rodrigues. The two took the tournament cup to the lawn together. Tite and the coaching staff of the Brazilian team also watched the match at the stadium.