Ana Vitória on Corinthians' away loss to Cruzeiro in Brasileirão | OneFootball

On the night of last Monday (18), Corinthians visited Cruzeiro at Arena do Jacaré, in Minas Gerais, in a match valid for the 11th round of the qualification stage of the 2026 Brazilian Women’s Championship, and were beaten 3-2. The Brabas’ goals were scored by midfielder Andressa Alves and forward Jaqueline. Even with the defeat, Timão remained at the top of the national tournament with 25 points — eight wins, one draw, and one loss — with 27 goals scored and 12 conceded.

In an interview with Rádio Coringão minutes after the end of the match, midfielder Ana Vitória analyzed the defeat and lamented the defensive mistakes by the Corinthians team: “We conceded two goals we don’t usually concede, but it happens. We’re going to work on that. We even managed to come back from the two goals against a very capable team, but in the end, from a marking mistake at the edge of the box, they were efficient,” she began.

Photo: Cris Mattos/Agência Corinthians

She added by breaking down Corinthians’ mistakes on the three goals conceded in the match: “I’m very straightforward in my analyses. I don’t even talk about the first goal, because that was just unfortunate. Thais (Ferreira) is a great center-back, a reference. But the second goal came from a set piece, and we can do better there. As for the third goal, to me, it was a collective mistake, everyone going toward one player and leaving another free at the edge of the box. So, I think those are two things we can’t afford to get wrong again.”

Later, Corinthians’ number 88 came to coach Emily Lima’s defense, as she ended up being criticized by the fans for the substitutions made during the match. Over the 90 minutes, Gisela Robledo, Juliete, Letícia Monteiro, Ariel Godoi, and Jhonson replaced Tamires, Ana Vitória, Belén Aquino, and Gabi Zanotti, in that order.

“I think that analysis is very superficial, because if you look at it, the second half was 1-1. We lost the game in the first half. The first half was 2-1. We went after the equalizer in the second half and, in the end, there was a marking mistake at the edge of the box. Two of us go to the same player and leave one of them free at the top of the box. She shoots and scores. But it has nothing to do with the players who came on,” she continued.

Finally, she emphasized the importance of Alvinegro staying at the top of the Brazilian Women’s Championship overall standings, with the aim of deciding all the knockout-round matches at home. She also looked ahead to the match against Santos this Thursday (21), at Estádio Alfredo Schürig, Fazendinha, for the third round of the first phase of the Women’s Paulista Championship.

“I think that’s the most important thing. We’re still in first place, thanks to the work we’ve done so far. So, one game in which we had some mistakes that cost us the win isn’t going to shake us. Now, first, we have a match in the Paulista Championship. We already know the situation in both competitions. So first, it’s about thinking about the next match, which is in the Paulista, putting in a great performance, playing a good game, and coming away with the win. Then, yes, we’ll think about the next opponent in the Brazilian Championship,” she concluded.

Ana Vitória returned to Corinthians in 2026 after a spell in European football with Benfica (Portugal), PSG (France), and Atlético de Madrid (Spain). Across two spells with Timão (2017-2018 and 2026), she has nine goals and three assists in 67 matches (40 as a starter), with 49 wins, 10 draws, and eight losses — a 78.11% success rate. In addition, she has won two titles: the Women’s Copa Libertadores (2017) and the Brazilian Championship (2018).

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