Champions advance on penalties, Paulistão semi-finals confirmed

The current Paulista champion almost said goodbye to the 2026 edition of the tournament this Sunday (22).

But Hugo Souza once again made the difference for Corinthians.

Playing at Canindé, he saved a penalty in regular time and saw Vitinho score the 1-1 equalizer against Portuguesa in stoppage time.

Then, he saved two more penalties to secure Timão’s 8-7 victory in the shootout.

This result determined the semifinals matchups of the Paulistão – see below.

Hugo Souza, mistakes, and Lusa ahead

Portuguesa went into halftime with the lead. Which was fair for the team that worked the ball better.

Maceió was the first to stand out.

Next, Renê got past Hugo Souza before being brought down by him in the box.

A penalty that the number 21 himself took, but saw the Timão goalkeeper come out on top (26′).

It was the 12th penalty saved by Hugo for Corinthians in 37 attempts.

The persistent Lusa would score in the 38th minute.

André Ramalho failed to clear Raniele’s long ball and Zé Vitor beat Hugo Souza.

Timão had more possession before halftime. But failed to impress.

Attempts and… Timão’s goal

With no other option, Corinthians came back for the second half with Garro.

Hugo Souza saved João Vitor’s attempt and, right after, Corinthians started to press.

Dorival brought on Dieguinho, Vitinho, and Pedro Raul in succession.

The striker had a great chance in the 28th minute, but missed the finish.

The pressure continued. Without effect.

The main chances were for Lusa and with Maceió.

Then Vitinho celebrated his much-awaited first goal in a Corinthians shirt in the 48th minute.

Penalty Shootout

Garro saw Bertinato save his shot – 0x0

Zé Vitor left Hugo Souza with no chance – 0x1

Vitinho gave Bertinato no chance – 1×1

Renê was frustrated by Hugo Souza again – 1×1

Matheuzinho sent the rival keeper the wrong way – 2×1

Botteghin hit the post directly, but then celebrated – 2×2

Gustavo Henrique beat Bertinato with style – 3×2

Gustavo Henrique (from Lusa) showed quality to score – 3×3

Pedro Raul almost saw Bertinato save, but celebrated – 4×3

Maceió showed plenty of personality to beat Hugo – 4×4

André Ramalho sent it to Bertinato’s left corner – 5×4

Hudson struck hard with no chance for Hugo – 5×5

Kayke showed personality to score – 6×5

Salomão hit the side netting to celebrate – 6×6

André took it well to beat Bertinato – 7×6

Carlos Eduardo sent it through Hugo’s legs – 7×7

Allan shot to the left corner – 8×7

Cauari saw Hugo Souza save with his feet – 8×7

Semifinal matchups 👇🏽

Novorizontino and Palmeiras kept the best and second-best records, respectively, after eliminating Santos and Capivariano.

Meanwhile, São Paulo waited for the last semifinal to be decided.

Tricolor started the knockout stage with the sixth-best record and depended on what happened at Canindé to know if they would have the third or fourth-best overall performance.

Corinthians’ qualification on penalties gave SPFC the third-best record.

Securing a derby against Palmeiras.

Timão ended up with the fourth-best record.

Which left the matchups as follows:

Best record – Novorizontino 🆚 Corinthians – fourth-best record

Second-best record – Palmeiras 🆚 São Paulo – third-best record

Single matches scheduled for Sunday (1).

Photo: Agência Paulistão

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

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