Matheuzinho hails stunner in Corinthians win, opens up on future | OneFootball

Matheuzinho was one of the standout performers in Corinthians’ 3-2 win over São Paulo at Neo Química Arena in the Brasileirão. Scorer of a stunning goal in the derby, the right-back spoke in the mixed zone about his performance, commented on the own-goal incident, responded to interest from Russian football, and also assessed the refereeing in the match.

Wearing the No. 2 shirt, he celebrated his first goal of the season and highlighted the importance of contributing offensively to the team again.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

“I’m very happy. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to be able to help Corinthians directly. In the last match I managed to get an assist, and now a goal. I hope I can keep making these runs into the final third. I’m very happy because it was something I’d really been demanding of myself this year, my first goal. I hope it’s the first of a few this year.”

Matheuzinho also revealed that the top-corner finish did not happen by chance. According to the full-back, Fernando Diniz has been encouraging the players to take more shots in training.

“In training, the coach has been giving me a lot of confidence to shoot. There were two or three similar plays in training to what happened today. Of course, when we full-backs get into the box, we look for the goalscorers, but I couldn’t miss the chance to shoot. I did well with the dribble and the finish.”

In addition to scoring, Matheuzinho also ended up putting the ball into his own net late in the match. The right-back explained the play and said the mistake does not take away from his performance in the derby.

“It was a very good strike, the ball went past the near post and dropped out of nowhere. It was a tricky ball. I tried to clear it and ended up putting it into the goal. I think it’s part of the game, and it doesn’t take away from the team’s great performance or from my goal.”

Another topic addressed by the defender was a possible offer from Russian football. Matheuzinho said he only recently learned about the situation, but stressed that, at this moment, he is fully focused on Corinthians.

“I found out yesterday when I went to give an interview. I didn’t know anything about it. It’s not something on my mind right now. Today my focus is on Barra, on Thursday, and completely on Corinthians.”

The player also left open the possibility of considering a future move, if it proves positive for all parties involved.

“When the time comes, we’ll sit down and see what happens. If it’s something good for the club and for me, there’s no problem moving forward. But today I’m very happy here.”

Matheuzinho also commented on the new black kit worn by Corinthians in the derby. The right-back said the squad had already known about the design for some time and praised the shirt’s retro style.

“A very beautiful kit, very retro. Since the first time we saw it, back at the end of 2024, we knew it would be very beautiful. My preference is black, I think it looked amazing. And we already made our debut in it with a derby win.”

On the refereeing, the right-back spoke about the incident involving Bobadilla and pointed out differences in criteria compared to previous red cards shown against Corinthians.

“It’s hard to talk about it. Daronco said there was no contact, but against us there were two occasions when they went to VAR to send players off. Today he went to VAR and decided it was nothing. We have to respect his opinion.”

Finally, the right-back also spoke about Breno Bidon, a constant target of complaints from opposing players during the derby. For Matheuzinho, the midfielder is in great form and helps the team precisely by getting under the opponents’ skin.

“I think for them he’s cocky, but for us he’s wonderful. He’s a star. When he gets under their skin, that’s good for us. It’s part of his game.”

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