Corinthians win at Athletico-PR, lead Copa do Brasil quarter-finals | OneFootball

Corinthians defeated Athletico-PR 1-0 on Wednesday night at Ligga Arena in Curitiba, taking the lead in the quarterfinal clash of the Copa do Brasil. Timão scored with the youngster Gui Negão and held onto the result thanks to saves by goalkeeper Hugo Souza and the VAR, which disallowed Furacão's equalizer for a handball.

With the narrow victory, Corinthians only needs a draw in the return leg to advance to the next stage. A loss by one goal takes the match to penalties, while a defeat by two or more goals eliminates the São Paulo side. The winner of the tie will face Cruzeiro or Atlético-MG in the semifinals.

The second meeting between the teams is scheduled for September 10, also at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at Neo Química Arena.

Before that, Corinthians has nothing less than a Derby ahead. Dorival Júnior's team will host Palmeiras this Sunday in Itaquera, for the 22nd round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. The classic will kick off at 6:30 p.m.

Athletico-PR, meanwhile, returns to the field a day earlier, on Saturday, against Novorizontino, for the 24th round of Série B. The match starts at 8:30 p.m. at Ligga Arena.

The match

Corinthians started better and almost opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Maycon received from Matheuzinho at the edge of the box and, unmarked, took a shot at goal. The ball grazed the post. In the 19th minute, Athletico-PR responded with Léo Derik, who crossed perfectly for Luiz Fernando at the far post. However, he shot poorly and sent it over the bar.

Furacão tightened their marking for the rest of the first half and began to pose more danger to Timão's goal. Near the end of the first half, in the 44th minute, Zapelli took a free kick to the corner and forced Hugo Souza into a great save. The visitors, meanwhile, made too many passing errors and did not trouble goalkeeper Santos again.

Second half

Dorival changed Corinthians' formation after the break and saw the change pay off. In the 57th minute, after a good team move, Timão opened the scoring in Curitiba. Vitinho delivered a classy cross to the far post and found Matheuzinho, who set up Gui Negão, alone in the six-yard box. The youngster only had to tap it into the net.

Athletico-PR managed to equalize in the 68th minute, through Benavídez. However, the goal was disallowed by the referee after a VAR review due to a handball at the start of the play.

Furacão threatened again in the dying moments, in the 92nd minute. After a cross into the box, Patrick headed high, but Hugo Souza made a great save. Despite the scares, Timão managed to hold on for the win, taking an important advantage into the return leg.

MATCH DETAILS ATHLETICO-PR 0 X 1 CORINTHIANS

Venue: Ligga Arena, Curitiba (PR) Date: August 27, 2025, Wednesday Time: 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Referee: Wilton Pereira Sampaio (GO) Assistants: Bruno Raphael Pires (GO) and Nailton Junior de Sousa Oliveira (CE) VAR: Rodrigo D’Alonso Ferreira (SC) Yellow cards: Léo Derik, Benavídez, and Renan Peixoto (Athletico-PR); Matheuzinho and Gustavo Henrique (Corinthians) Red cards: None Attendance: 40,236 fans Revenue: R$ 2,714,670.00

GOAL: Gui Negão, 57′ 2nd half (Corinthians)

ATHLETICO-PR: Santos; Benavídez (Renan Peixoto), Aguirre, Arthur Dias, and Léo Derik; Felipinho (Elan Ricardo), Patrick, and Zapelli (Dudu); Mendoza (Leozinho), Luiz Fernando (Madson), and Viveros. Coach: Odair Hellmann

CORINTHIANS: Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho (Félix Torres), André Ramalho, Gustavo Henrique, and Matheus Bidu; Maycon (Ryan), Charles (Cacá), Breno Bidon, and Rodrigo Garro (Memphis Depay); Kayke (Vitinho) and Gui Negão. Coach: Dorival Júnior

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.