The pressure was on for Yuri Alberto when Corinthians hosted Atletico Goianiense in the Copa do Brasil this week. Fail to score, and this would be his longest goal drought since 2019, when the striker was merely a baby-faced up-and-comer.
So what did Yuri Alberto do? He scored a 22-minute hat-trick, that’s what.
Between the 50th and 72nd minute, he found the net more times than across the entirety of his last 14 games in all competitions. And it wasn’t just any old hat-trick either. It was, what they call in the business, a ‘perfect hat-trick’.
A drilled left-footed finish, a clever glancing header and then a delicate chip with his right. If Alberto’s first of the night was a striker desperate to score – opting for power over placement – then his third was indicative of a man who had just rediscovered his confidence. Audacious, yet emphatic.
Yuri Alberto showing why West Ham United wanted him
“Man, I just have to thank God,” said a clearly relieved Alberto at full-time, via Lance. “I said it would be six, seven games to get used to (life at Corinthians).
“The goals came at the right time.”
According to Brazilian publication UOL, West Ham United made a move for Yuri Alberto before he left Zenit St Petersburg for a loan spell at the Neo Quimica Arena back in June. And, after game after game passed him by, Corinthians supporters must have been wondering what all the fuss was about.
After all, this was a player who had been linked with not just West Ham but also Barcelona, Arsenal, Everton and Inter Milan in the recent past. A man Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg paid £17 million as recently as seven months ago.
“I believe that, if he goes to the Premier League, he will be very successful,” former Santos coach Marcio Zanardi said at the height of the speculation.
“He’s a keen player, he has exceptional (skills) one against one. He has a lot of strength, positions himself well in the (penalty) area and finishes like few others. He has a lot of quality.”
After a barren run that stretched back four months and 14 games, that ‘quality’ was finally on show again.
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