If the biggest surprise of the preliminary round of the Copa Libertadores was the elimination of Boca Juniors against Alianza Lima… Corinthians is on the same path. Last night, they suffered a painful 3-0 defeat in Ecuador against Barcelona SC and are now forced to turn the tie around in Brazil if they want to secure their ticket to the Copa Libertadores.

Barcelona SC was far superior to Corinthians

Throughout the 90 minutes, Barcelona SC gave Corinthians no chance, with only one shot on target, which was saved by José Contreras: "I never regret what I do. Here, especially in the Libertadores, it's completely different from what we play in Brazil. They were much superior in every aspect, even more so in tactics. They played a great match," said coach Ramón Díaz after the game.

During this week, with the match against Santos coming up in the semifinals of the Campeonato Paulista, he will have time to prepare for the match and correct all the mistakes made. However, despite Corinthians being forced to score four goals to turn the tie around, Ramón Díaz admitted that "they don’t lose hope" of making it to the Libertadores.

What happens if Corinthians does not make a comeback against Barcelona SC in the Copa Libertadores?

Much more blunt was Maycon, who came on in the second half and couldn’t prevent Corinthians’ defeat, offering a much more direct assessment of the team's performance: "I think it’s the worst feeling a player can have, shame. Now we have to apologize to the fans and work hard because we have a semifinal and the second leg."

After a year of absence from the Copa Libertadores, the situation at Corinthians is dramatic… and the season has just begun. Last year, they focused all their efforts on the Copa Sudamericana and were eliminated in the semifinals. Now, if they fail to turn the tie around against Barcelona SC, they will fall back to the Copa Sudamericana.