Corinthians defender on Martínez red card: We’ll have a word | OneFootball

One of the main leaders of the current Corinthians squad, defender Gustavo Henrique promised that players and the coaching staff will have a conversation with midfielder José Martínez after his new expulsion in the 3-0 defeat to Cruzeiro at Mineirão, during the 35th round of the Brazilian Championship.

This was Martínez's second expulsion in the last four games for Corinthians. The Venezuelan had just returned from suspension on Thursday and is already suspended again. Gustavo Henrique revealed that there was no talk in the locker room but shared some behind-the-scenes insights.

“He was with his head down, looking at the ground. It's hard to demand in a heated moment, everyone is p*** because we lost the game. But as I said, he is an experienced player. There have been moments he could have avoided because it really hinders the flow of the match. We will talk to him. Now it's no use crucifying one or the other because everyone loses and wins together,” analyzed the defender.

Corinthians has been struggling with suspensions due to cards in the Brazilian Championship. Recently, against Ceará, Carrillo, Charles, and Martínez were suspended. Against São Paulo, Garro was out due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Timão is the second team with the most yellow cards (104) in the tournament, behind only Vitória (107).

“Certainly [if the cards have been hindering Corinthians in the Brazilian Championship]. It always hinders, not only the issue of cards but also injuries. When we play with the team considered the main squad, which gets to know each other more and more, it makes a difference. You can see Cruzeiro's team. One gets injured, but another comes in the same system. This generates a lot of synergy for the team. We have suffered from this, not being able to repeat the same formations, and it doesn't generate the necessary synergy we need,” evaluated the number 13.

Fluctuation and Paths in the Copa do Brasil

Corinthians seems unable to string together a series of positive results in the Brazilian Championship and continues to fluctuate in the competition. In the last five rounds, there have been three defeats and two victories. Gustavo Henrique vented about the situation and called for a change in attitude from the squad, especially in away games.

“It's hard to even explain. We talk practically every week, it's a pain to talk all the time and nothing changes. We need to have a different kind of attitude, especially away from home. We need to want the ball more because we know that away from home, especially in big games, the rival has quality and more courage to press due to the support of the fans. We need to change this mindset. It's not enough just to talk, we need to work tactically as well,” he vented.

Corinthians will need to quickly turn the page after the defeat to Cruzeiro. In two weeks, Timão will face the Minas Gerais rival again, this time in the semifinals of the Copa do Brasil. The first leg will be at Mineirão on December 10, while the return leg is scheduled for December 14 at Neo Química Arena.

“Everything has to be different from what it was today. We couldn't play, we couldn't do anything. We had difficulties marking, playing with the ball at our feet. We know Cruzeiro's quality, it's a very strong team that has been playing together for a long time. It's never easy to play here. For the 10th, we have to learn from all the mistakes we made today, study our opponent a lot to be strengthened on the 10th,” concluded the player.

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