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 teams 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 teams 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 teams 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 f
