Corinthians finally ended a long drought of not winning at Vila Belmiro after a 2-0 victory over Santos on Sunday night in the Paulista Championship. Timão are now close to securing a quarter-final spot in the competition. Both teams fielded their reserve sides.
Defender Raul and left-back Lucas Piton grabbed the goals for Corinthians, who are now inches close to securing a spot in the next round.
In-between, Santos defender Carioca was shown two yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes before he then got his matching orders.
Santos have a tougher fixture run to look forward to, as a crunch clash against Boca Juniors in the Libertadores awaits on Tuesday.
The game was significant for Corinthians defender Raul in particular. Still only 21, the youngster is starting to prove his worth and show that he can be a regular for under Vagner Mancini. He was all over the place positively and it was fitting that he scored his first professional goal with the club on the evening. During his celebration, he was rather emotional as he paid tribute to his sister who tragically passed away last year.
The victory moves Corinthians to 21 points from ten games, as they continue to lead Group A. They are also expected to top their group. Santos remain with nine points and are second on the Group D log, behind leaders Mirassol.
For their next outing, Corinthians welcome Peñarol on Thursday for the second round of the Copa Sudamericana while Santos have a make-or-break Libertadores clash against Boca Juniors on Tuesday.
