Corinthians Women successfully lifted their sixth Brasileirão Feminino title, a few days after they won against São Paulo in their two-legged tie in the final.
Corinthians surely merited to win their league trophy.
They won both the away and home legs, with a total final score of 5-1 for the Timão, making it the team’s fifth consecutive league title.
Under the management of Lucas Piccinato, who replaced Arthur Elias due to the latter’s national team duties, Corinthians looked rather powerful and balanced throughout the season, with 13 wins, one draw, and one loss out of 15 games played.
These excellent numbers can only stress the team’s continuous progress and consistent work on tactics, which allowed them to diversify their plans and win regularly in Brazil.
Winning the title once again ensured that Corinthians participated in the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina.
They did not need to wait for the end of the season to know if they were eligible or not, simply because they were the actual champions, which granted them automatic participation in the 2024 edition.
The league’s group stage and final stages helped Corinthians improve the performances of an already very competitive team and prepare in the best of ways for the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina, knowing that the teams to be faced in the group stage are already more powerful than the Brasileirão’s opponents: Boca Juniors, ADIFFEM, and Libertad.
Corinthians will, therefore, need to conserve their excellent league run of form and keep working on it to challenge seriously to preserve their CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina title.
Playing and winning in the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina will not represent a surprise anymore.
Nevertheless, Corinthians should not underestimate their opponents in this tournament.
Teams like Boca Juniors and the teams they will eventually face in the knockout stage will surely be difficult to beat.
In this tactical analysis and scout report, we will explore Corinthians’ strengths this season by looking at their attacking tactics, transitions, and defensive phase.
The analysis will also shed some light on what can be improved in these phases to make Corinthians invincible in both the Brasileirão and the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina.
Corinthians Women Attacking Phase
With an average of 20.03 shots per match for Corinthians and an xG that equals 2.51, we must say that this team has an advantage over its opponents in terms of attacking performances.
They have outstanding statistics in this regard, especially if we compare them with the rest of the teams in their league.
Although they do not necessarily have the advantage in terms of duels won, they have higher possession rates, with an average of 60.53%.
If we look at these statistics and try to combine them, we find that Corinthians use possession efficiently and are not trying to have passive possession.
Instead, Corinthians’ possession has often been fruitful, as the average shots suggest, knowing that the team’s shooting on target reaches 41.4% on average.
With the alternation of formations using the 4-3-3, the 4-2-3-1, the 4-4-2, the 3-5-2 and lately the 4-1-4-1 too, Piccinato showcased his ability to switch formations based on his players’ form, his match plans, and his opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.
Piccinato relied heavily on Millene as a main striker and on Fernandinha as a second-choice striker, who was also impactful during the season.
Also, players like Victória, Gabi Portilho, Duda Sampaio, Jaqueline Ribeiro, and Carol Nogueira were used in different positions each time but were crucial for this team’s attacking actions.
These were the players Piccinato used to score using crosses from the wings, quick counterattacks, shots from distance, set-pieces, and penetrations towards the box.
The following goal example highlights the excellent chemistry built between these attacking players.
This goal was scored thanks to an accurate cross from the wing and a deceiving header that was used as an assist to Ribeiro, who scored it with a powerful header.
The movement without the ball from both the assist maker and the goalscorer highlights the efficiency of the team’s prepared attacking plans and proves that these attacking players have the talent and experience needed to confuse defenders using well-timed accelerations and accurate passing/finishing.
Moreover, the team overcame numerous issues this season thanks to shots from distance, especially when they faced teams with compact and well-organised defences.
Many of the players on this team master shooting from distance, and developing this aspect within them and encouraging them to go for shots whenever possible helped Corinthians get out of numerous difficult situations during games.
The following shot from distance executed by Sampaio highlights the team’s powerful shooting resources and proves that their reliance on shots from distance was fruitful on many occasions and by different players, not just forwards.
Corinthians were also good enough when it comes to set-piece taking and plans as they were able to score many goals thanks to well-executed free-kicks.
Working on avoiding marking and on moving intelligently without the ball before and during the execution of set-pieces helped Corinthians a lot in getting the needed goalscoring opportunities from such situations.
The following goal action shows the players’ movements in the final third before the free-kick was executed.
In this picture, we can clearly notice Carol Nogueira getting away from the marking zone and acting as if she is uninterested in the action in order to escape marking and be away from all the opponents.
This movement helped Nogueira remain unmarked and run freely towards the box to then be first on a second ball and be able to score a beautiful goal using her left foot.
Corinthians were able to score goals using various plans thanks to numerous solo efforts.
The variety of this team’s goalscorers highlights the excellent chemistry between the players and their ability to keep their attacking form going despite the frequent changes of formations and line-ups this season.
It also confirms the fact that the team is filled with players who are eager to score and who are characterised by some crucial finishing abilities.
Corinthians Women Transitions
When it comes to transitions, we can argue that Corinthians are one of the most dangerous teams in the Brasileirão, especially regarding attacking transitions.
This season, they have scored numerous goals thanks to successful and quick counterattacking actions that often start on the wings.
Players like Nogueira were extremely important during counterattacks, as the team relied on her to accelerate with the ball and penetrate into the opponent’s final third whenever possible.
The following example highlights not only Nogueira’s remarkable pace and ability to run with the ball for a long distance without being chased but also the continuous support from her teammates, who joined her in numbers to provide passing solutions.
That being said, some work is needed regarding the defensive transitions, as the defensive line gets high on the pitch at times and makes things complicated for themselves, especially when trying to retreat and cover against quick opponents.
This happened mainly when the defensive line got higher during corners or set-pieces, causing real issues for the team at the back.
It is true that on many occasions, the goalkeeper was able to save the shots.
Nevertheless, it will be crucial to work further on this aspect to prevent such dangerous counterattacks from happening, knowing that things can get worse if playing against teams with more clinical forwards.
Corinthians Women Defensive Aspect & Possible Improvements
We can argue that Corinthians are strong enough defensively as they concede nine shots per game on average, win 66.7% of the defensive duels and make around 43.2 interceptions per game.
Overall, the team have some reliable defenders and defend well as a unit.
That being said, there are certainly some weaknesses that need to be addressed as quickly as possible.
Among these weaknesses, we can mention individual marking errors and individual passing errors, as these mistakes cost Corinthians some goals this season.
The following example shows one of the defenders’ wrong movements and attempted passing, which led to falling on the pitch and conceding a goal that could have been avoided if the defender had not lost the ball in that key area.
Moreover, the team has problems with aerial duels, as they often concede goals due to such actions and marking mistakes.
With 48.2% of aerial duels won on average, Corinthians will have to work better on set-piece defending and on marking inside the box, especially during crosses, as defenders have been committing some avoidable errors inside the box during such actions.
Trying to anticipate crosses while leaving an opponent behind is a huge mistake that some defenders are tempted to commit, as shown in this example.
The result was that the defender miscalculated the arrival spot of the cross, and her anticipation attempt represented a gift for the opponent who received the ball while being unmarked and could control the ball and score a goal without disturbance.
Therefore, avoiding individual mistakes and marking ones will be very beneficial for Corinthians in the long run, especially when facing teams with dangerous attacking players, like their opponents in the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina.
Conclusion
Corinthians continue to make history by lifting consecutive league titles each season.
They are becoming more powerful with each season, especially in the attacking aspect.
They are actually dominating the Brasileirão Feminino the way teams like Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Lyon, Chelsea and Roma are dominating their respective leagues lately.
With the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina starting very soon, Corinthians should exploit their excellent run of form and work harder to conserve their continental title, too.
In order to achieve another continental success, consolidating their defensive performances and fixing what went wrong defensively during this season will help them a lot in achieving their target.
