Corinthians – Palmeiras: Derby draw keeps Corinthians positive for the year (1-1)

Corinthians and Palmeiras drew the Paulista derby (term referring to the state of São Paulo) on Matchday 22 in yet another clash of one of the biggest rivalries in Brazil and the world. Despite the setbacks, Corinthians maintains a positive record against its main Brazilian rival in 2025 and achieved this in a match where both teams tried more to neutralize each other than to play good football with their offensive ideas.

Tactical analysis and match report by Marcus Arboés

Dorival Junior, after securing a win against Vasco in the Brasileirão and another against Athletico in the Copa do Brasil, has been trying to reach an ideal lineup with the absence of some players due to injury. The starting goalkeeper and center-backs were kept, while Angileri replaced the suspended Matheus Bidu at left fullback and defensive midfielder Charles played instead of Matheuzinho on the right. In midfield, Raniele, Breno Bidon, and Maycon were chosen to play around the Argentine Garro. Up front, the decisive youngster Gui Negão was joined by Memphis Depay (Netherlands National Team), forming a 4-3-1-2 outline.

Abel Ferreira’s Palmeiras kept almost the expected starting eleven, except for the young right fullback Giay, who gave way to Khellven in the position. In the starting lineup, standouts included Weverton (Brazil National Team), Gustavo Gómez (Paraguay), and Piquerez (Uruguay) in defense. In midfield, the team lined up with two defensive midfielders in a 4-4-2 formation, with two wide wingers, one of them Felipe Anderson (former Lazio). The attacking duo was once again Flaco López and Vitor Roque (former Barcelona).

Corinthians build-up well neutralized

Even before, Corinthians had been showing problems in the build-up, as in the match against Vasco, organizing themselves in a 4-3-1-2 shape. The team has been losing many individual duels, unable to create a more fluid progression. Therefore, against Palmeiras, Dorival Junior decided to adopt a different system from what had been used, allowing them to have superiority at the base of the play.

The first midfielder Raniele dropped on the left, center-back Gustavo Henrique centralized to receive directly from the goalkeeper, and André Ramalho opened on the right. The two fullbacks (Angileri and Charles) played higher to attack space on the outside, while Breno Bidon and Maycon, two midfielders capable of playing with their backs to pressure, dropped behind Palmeiras’ first line of marking, offering passing options inside on both sides.

Alternative for Corinthians’ build-up, with Raniele dropping between the center-backs to generate numerical superiority.

Starting from a 4-1-3-2 shape, Palmeiras managed to deal very well with this numerical superiority of Corinthians in the build-up. Midfielder Lucas Evangelista, playing between the two wingers in marking, jumped out to apply individual pressure on Gustavo Henrique or goalkeeper Hugo Souza, while forwards Vitor Roque and Flaco López marked Raniele and André Ramalho on the outside.

The key to the marking was in the wingers and fullbacks of Palmeiras. Maurício and Felipe Anderson positioned themselves between the Corinthians midfielders and fullbacks, usually closing inside on Breno Bidon and Maycon. Fullbacks Piquerez and Khellven did not stay in the last line, on the contrary, they pushed high to press or individually follow the Corinthians fullbacks.

Gustavo Gómez was responsible for aggressive individual marking on Memphis, except if he dropped too deep. Murilo focused on Gui Negão’s movements, while Aníbal Moreno was exemplary in nullifying any participation of Garro in the build-up, who is already not so influential in this first phase of construction, but has a lot of technical quality. This left the team quite dependent on Memphis’ proactivity, since Garro was well marked and Breno Bidon was making many mistakes in the first half.

As a result, Corinthians needed to create other escape routes, through dribbling and individual ball carrying by some players. On more than one occasion, Angileri, Charles, or Maycon had to receive deeper and dribble or advance carrying the ball for Corinthians to gain meters and destabilize the opponent’s markings.

Palmeiras’ attack

To open the scoring in the Derby, Palmeiras earned a penalty suffered by Flaco López in a combination play, where Vitor Roque received a direct pass and his strike partner managed to get free and win the foul, converted by the former Barcelona and Betis player. They have been an excellent duo, within a 4-4-2 shape very well worked by Abel Ferreira, since their characteristics fit together perfectly, both being capable of acting as “bow and arrow.”

But this penalty has a context behind it and comes from Palmeiras’ offensive approach: direct passes, mainly aerial, for Vitor Roque and Flaco López to win in the box or in the half-spaces. To create offensive volume, both fullbacks attacked space wide or inside, depending on the positioning of the wingers, who often pushed into the box as crossing options or even cut inside to find a pass, switch, or shot, using the forwards as support.

Palmeiras’ attacking patterns: Aníbal Moreno dropping into the backline to look for the wide play with the fullbacks or a direct long ball from the defense to the strike duo.

Although the team played a lot down the flanks, in attack the positioning of the defensive midfielders was important, since Palmeiras usually lined them up inside. Aníbal Moreno dropped more between the center-backs to create superiority or open up the possibility for Gustavo Gómez or Murilo to attempt a direct ball to the forwards, in addition to receiving to find the wide fullbacks, often switching the side through which Palmeiras attacked.

Meanwhile, Lucas Evangelista played more advanced, as an inside-to-outside option, for long shots or even as a presser, to push after losing possession from a more advanced position. In this role, he has already scored goals in other situations during the current season. Abel Ferreira’s focus was to ensure the ball reached the forwards quickly and that they had options to win second balls or to receive crosses and plays from the fullbacks or wingers.

To deal with this, Corinthians also needed to adjust their structure. Usually, when Garro starts, Dorival saves more of his playmaker’s energy, leaving him in the first line, in a 4-3-3 formation. Since the team marks with individual matchups, it’s even common for one of the forwards to drop deeper than him. Against Vasco, this structure made perfect sense, since Fernando Diniz’s team attacked with heavy clustering on the flanks, but Palmeiras is a more positional team, using the entire width of the pitch.

If Corinthians had already been struggling with wide play, having Memphis in the team made striker Gui Negão take on more defensive responsibilities, dropping into the second defensive line, forming a 4-4-2 shape in low block situations. It cannot be said that it was a good defensive match from Corinthians, as Hugo Souza was exposed a few times, but offensively Palmeiras was not very efficient.

Corinthians high block marking closing Palmeiras’ spaces and alternatives, which insisted on the direct game.

Marking high, Corinthians had a slightly different strategy to deal with Palmeiras, instead of the traditional and very common individual matchups, forming a 4-3-3 shape with the trio of defensive midfielders in the midfield line and Garro central in the forward line, acting more zonally.

The forwards shifted together, without pressing the ball carrier too aggressively, while the defensive midfielders tried to pressure the receiver or intercept progressive passes. Their goal even came from a situation where Maycon intercepted a pass to Flaco and earned a foul, which was delivered into the box for Gustavo Henrique to head and Piquerez to score an own goal.

Palmeiras’ idea was to use the fullbacks more as support for the center-backs to attempt direct balls, aerial or on the ground, seeking the supporting or penetrating runs of Vitor Roque and Flaco López, with wingers Maurício and Felipe Anderson tucking inside to try to win second balls or even acting as targets for balls in behind the last line. The team advanced several times from these direct passes, winning physical duels and taking advantage of the manipulation ability of the strike duo.

Alternatives for the second half

The teams did not change for the second half, not because they were satisfied with the draw, but because the starting elevens at that moment were the most ideal to find solutions. However, the game, already locked and without much brilliance, continued the same. Despite the lack of substitutions, it was noticeable that Abel Ferreira instructed a change of priority for the build-up.

Corinthians’ 4-3-3 shape high block marking has a weakness: you expose the flanks, but you can close them with a shift, only if you switch the side of escape quickly, you can catch the other side exposed. With this, Palmeiras’ strategy became using the fullbacks with two main functions, both to free the defensive midfielders to attempt direct balls inside to the attacking quartet.

Palmeiras’ alternative bulid-up strategy finding midfielder as freeman

In the first role, the fullback receives wide, unmarked, and looks for the approach of one of the defensive midfielders, who receives assertively and looks for a long pass to the forwards and wingers making runs behind the last line or dropping to create support for each other. This dropping movement towards the midfielder generates individual pursuit, which opens space to be used by the winger or the other striker.

This dropping support also served to receive from one defensive midfielder, finding the other running free as the third man advancing between the two opposition midfielders. This midfielder received facing forward to play long passes into depth. This also occurred with direct balls from the center-backs, this time using the fullbacks only to draw marking and leave the center-back in conditions to play the long ball.

In attack, Corinthians did not make major changes, nor did Palmeiras. Structurally, both stayed in their initial formations and focused more on offensive aerial play to reach the opponent’s goal. The rest of the match, in the duel between two good coaches, was considerably monotonous.

Takeaways

The draw was fair, but the Derby always fills Brazilian fans with expectations of excitement and thrill, which were not really fulfilled: two set-piece goals, with each defense nullifying the opponent’s strengths and the forwards lacking inspiration to finish, with the goalkeepers doing their jobs well. From a tactical perspective, for enthusiasts who study the game, these are good examples of high block marking, with different intentions of action.

But that does not matter to Palmeiras, who so far has been defeated three times and won only once against its biggest rival, generating pressure on coach Abel Ferreira, who once again got irritated in the post-game press conference. Now, the Portuguese coach must focus his energy on next Matchday’s clash against Internacional.

Corinthians may have some reasons to celebrate, but not too much. The fans are calmed a bit with the positive run and the maintained positive record against Palmeiras, giving Dorival Junior more credit, who will have to deal with the absences of Raniele and Breno Bidon. But before facing Fluminense next Matchday, they have the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals against Athletico, whom they took the advantage earlier in the week.

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