Hugo Souza hails debut win, eyes progress under Fernando Diniz | OneFootball

After Corinthians’ 2-0 win over Platense on Thursday night (09), in the opening round of the Conmebol Libertadores group stage, goalkeeper Hugo Souza commented on the result in the mixed zone. One of the standout performers of the match, the No. 1 delivered a solid display and was decisive with important saves throughout the game.

The goalkeeper celebrated the away result and highlighted the positive impact of the win on the squad’s atmosphere, especially at the start of the team’s work under coach Fernando Diniz.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca / Corinthians

“Well, actually, I’m very happy to get the win. Libertadores nights are always important, always satisfying, always different nights. And today, starting with a win, I think it gives our team a lot of confidence, gives our coach a lot of confidence too, since he just arrived, and that makes our environment better to work in. I’m happy I was able to help the team with those two saves, and I think that’s… I always say it’s important, I’m there to do my part and I never want to be the protagonist, but when I’m needed I have to be there ready,” Hugo said.

In addition to his individual performance, Hugo also spoke about the first few days of work with Fernando Diniz and adapting to the new coach’s ideas, stressing the short preparation time before the debut.

“Actually, it was only two days, and we had very little time to work. He gave us some information and we went with a simpler game plan, which is an idea that will still be developed day by day out there on the field. And I think we played a good game within what we were able to do. He’s a coach who will add a lot in that regard. I think I’m going to improve a lot with him, both me and our whole group. And I hope we can be very happy together,” he added.

Finally, the goalkeeper assessed the team’s current moment and pointed out what was decisive for Corinthians to return to winning ways after a negative run this season.

“Winning feels great. I think we were missing a bit of what we did today on the pitch. We managed to understand the game better. We knew how to play the game in a way that made us feel more comfortable. It was a game where we understood that it wouldn’t be good for us to try to play too much, it wouldn’t be good for us to take risks. And we knew how to play the game, we knew how to defend, we knew how to kill off the game. I think that was important. Getting back to winning, everyone was committed, everyone ran, everyone marked a lot. I think that made all the difference so we could leave with the three points. It’s always very difficult to play in Argentina. And we won here, that feels really good,” he concluded.

With the result, Corinthians begin their Libertadores campaign with three points and take the lead in Group E. The team’s next match will be against Independiente Santa Fe at Neo Química Arena in the second round of the continental competition.

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