Javier Correa returns with a goal in Colo Colo's 2-2 draw against O'Higgins

Three matchdays on the sidelines, plenty of noise swirling around him and one question on everyone's mind: how would Javier Correa come back? The answer arrived fast, goal included. The Argentine forward reappeared for Colo Colo after serving his suspension for criticizing referee Nicolás Gamboa, and he marked the occasion by scoring in a 2-2 draw against O'Higgins in the 2026 Liga de Primera.

The match, played on August 17, had a bit of everything. Colo Colo went ahead, O'Higgins fought back with know-how, and the white side leveled things up again just when the game seemed to be slipping away. Right in the middle of that back and forth was Correa, decisive once again, once again the headline name of the day.

But if the forward's return made anything clear, it's that his more combative side remains fully intact. As soon as the match ended, he was back to firing shots, this time not at one particular referee but at those who hand down disciplinary decisions in Chilean soccer.

They wanted to use my case as a precedent and that's fine. I hope that's how it works out. But I saw another player get hit with a one-game ban for shoving a referee. The standard is different, we all know it. We're Colo Colo, it bothers them to see us up here, to see us doing well, they try to destabilize us somehow. Maybe I shouldn't be this honest, but that's how I feelJavier Correa

It's a statement that won't go unnoticed, because it puts on the table something that's been discussed around Macul for a while now: the feeling that Colo Colo gets measured by a different yardstick. Correa said it plainly, fully aware of the noise it would stir up.

Frustration over the draw

Beyond the refereeing controversy, the forward was also left with a lingering frustration over how the draw against the sky blues unfolded. Colo Colo had the match in hand and ended up conceding two points at home.

We were right there to win it, but they have their own qualities, they went after it pretty well. We have to learn from thatJavier Correa

It's an honest take, with no excuses: he credits the opponent's effort while also leaving room for internal self-criticism for a team that needs to close out games it's dominating more effectively.

With this draw, Colo Colo remains atop the standings, though the cushion is starting to shrink. And this very week brings the moment every Chilean soccer fan waits for: the Superclásico against Universidad de Chile. Correa already has his mind set on it.

A great Superclásico week is coming up, and we need to get ready for what's ahead. We're in first place and we know everyone wants to close the gap on us. La U has been right on our heels, it's going to be a great matchJavier Correa

La U, in fact, is the team following the white side most closely in the standings. So the margin for error keeps shrinking. Colo Colo sits in first place, but with the sense that it left points behind, and with a forward who, between goals and sharp remarks, keeps setting the agenda both on and off the field.