Author: Soorya G
Playing at home in São Paulo’s Arena Neo Quimica, Corinthians were incredibly good in the creative aspects of the game, often creating brilliant moves to threaten Estudiantes’ net, but they wasted several chances, something that could come back to haunt the Brazilians in the first leg, which will be played in a week’s time.
Incidentally, the teams had very few shots on goal. Of Estudiantes’ seven attempts, it was only one. For Corinthians, two of their ten attempts were on target.
Corinthians, as expected, didn’t dominate possession during the game, but played on the counter-attack, as evidenced by the possession statistics. Despite only having 44% of the possession, the hosts managed to shoot far more than their opponents and even created some great chances, most of which failed to materialize. In statistical terms, Corinthians created three great chances and only converted one of them. In the 17th minute, Matias Rojas took a corner into the goalkeeper’s area. Gil, with a rebound off the post, opened the scoring – 1:0.
The veteran’s opening goal set the tone for the rest of the match in terms of attacking aspects, with Corinthians often finding themselves in advantageous positions in the opposition half. However, the front line was not up to the task, as they had a very underwhelming day in front of goal in terms of taking advantage of the chances that came their way. In the 77th minute, Maycon Barberan could have given the hosts a bigger win, but the defender blocked his shot.
As the game drew to a close, the hosts’ substitutes also managed to threaten Estudiantes. Angel Romero created a brilliant chance in the final moments, which Gustavo Mosquito failed to take.
José Sosa had the most realistic chance of leveling the score in the 26th minute. The Argentinian fired a free-kick against the right post. The hosts will be hoping that the missed opportunities are not the cause of their defeat next week, when they travel to Argentina.