Corinthians in worst defensive form under Dorival before Copa do Brasil | OneFootball

Corinthians says goodbye to the Campeonato Brasileiro this Sunday, against Juventude, but their focus is already on the two commitments of the Copa do Brasil semifinals, where they will face Cruzeiro. Already thinking about the team from Minas Gerais, Timão knows it has problems to fix, especially in the defensive sector.

One of coach Dorival Júnior’s main missions upon arriving at Corinthians was precisely to stop the bleeding in the defense. The coach found ways to achieve this goal and restored defensive stability to the Alvinegro, but saw that solidity collapse in the last two months.

Corinthians is experiencing its worst defensive streak since Dorival was hired by the club in April of this year. It has now been six games conceding goals, with 11 goals conceded in matches against Red Bull Bragantino (two), Ceará (one), São Paulo (one), Cruzeiro (three), Botafogo (two), and Fortaleza (two).

The last time Corinthians won without conceding a goal was a month ago. On that occasion, Timão beat Grêmio 2-0 at Neo Química Arena, still in the 31st round of the Brasileirão. Since then, the team has conceded goals in every round of the national tournament.

The worst defensive streak of the Dorival Era had been recorded in May of this year, when Corinthians conceded goals in three consecutive games against Internacional (two), América de Cali-COL (one), and Mirassol (two). This sequence, with different opponents, was repeated in August and later between September and October.

For the Copa do Brasil semifinals, therefore, the Alvinegro will need to regain the defensive stability shown at the beginning of Dorival’s tenure. With the coach in charge, there have been 38 games, 16 wins, 10 draws, and 12 losses, with 42 goals scored and 35 conceded.

Despite the high number of goals conceded recently, the Corinthians team kept a clean sheet in half of the matches under Dorival’s technical staff. It remains to be seen whether the team can repeat that defensive performance in the two Copa do Brasil games — a competition in which Corinthians has yet to concede a goal.

Worst defeat of the Dorival Era raised alarms

The 3-0 loss to Cruzeiro at Mineirão on November 23 was the worst of the Dorival Era. Corinthians had not suffered such a heavy blow with the coach in charge, and the defeat raised a warning flag for the two Copa do Brasil games.

After the loss, Dorival acknowledged Cruzeiro’s superiority but predicted that the Copa do Brasil semifinals would bring a different scenario. The impact of the defeat was so great that even Fabinho Soldado spoke exclusively to the Mesa Redonda program on TV Gazeta. The director stated that the coaching staff and management need to learn lessons from the negative result in the matchup.

Upcoming Corinthians matches

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.