Red Bull Bragantino secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Corinthians on Thursday in the second round of the Campeonato Paulista, taking the outright lead in the tournament with six points.
The match, held at Estádio Municipal Cicero de Souza Marques, started cautiously, with both teams probing each other and making numerous errors, leading to few clear scoring chances. After the technical break, the game intensified, creating more offensive opportunities, though defenses held firm at first.
The breakthrough came in the 35th minute of the first half: Jhon Jhon received the ball on the left, crossed into the box, and it deceived goalkeeper Hugo Souza, finding the net to give Bragantino a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Corinthians pushed forward with substitutes Carrillo, Bidon, and Matheuzinho, but at the 12th minute, Lucas Barbosa launched a counterattack, passing to Jhon Jhon, who evaded Cacá and made it 2-0 with a left-footed shot.
Corinthians mounted pressure for a comeback, and Yuri Alberto, subbed on at the 23rd minute, missed two golden opportunities: Cleiton saved the first, and the second was squandered with an open goal. Instead, Bragantino struck again at the 31st minute on a counter: Lucas Barbosa found Henry Mosquera, who advanced into the box, slipped past two defenders, and scored the third.
This result places Massa Bruta at the top with six points and a better goal difference than Palmeiras, who also have six. Corinthians drop to ninth with three points. Bragantino next face Botafogo-SP on Sunday (January 18), while Corinthians meet rivals São Paulo that day.
