Corinthians keeper praises effort in Flamengo loss, hails debutant | OneFootball

On the afternoon of this Sunday (13), Corinthians traveled to the Maracanã Stadium to face Flamengo in a match valid for the 2026 Brazilian Championship round, and were beaten 2-1. The Alvinegro’s goal was scored by striker Gui Negão, after a pass from Kaio César, midway through the second half. With the result, the club from Parque São Jorge dropped to 13th place with 32 points — eight wins, eight draws and 11 losses — 28 goals scored and 29 conceded, narrowing the gap to the relegation zone.

Moments after the final whistle, still on the pitch, goalkeeper Hugo Souza gave an interview to Rede Globo, and, even with the negative result, Corinthians’ No. 1 praised the club from Parque São Jorge’s attitude on the field. Coach Fernando Diniz chose to send out an alternate lineup due to the second leg of the Conmebol Libertadores quarterfinals, next Wednesday (16), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), against Estudiantes in Itaquera. Among the usual starters, only Hugo and Raniele began the match.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

“We have to highlight that everyone deserves congratulations. We withstood a lot of pressure from the opposition in the first half, we know the quality of Flamengo’s team, and today we chose to rest players because we have a very important game on Wednesday, and everyone handled it very well. The team deserves congratulations, even after conceding a goal early in the second half, we managed to start playing a little more, have a little more of the ball, and then we got the equalizer. Congratulations to Flamengo’s team, who had the quality to find the goal at the end and leave here with the win,” he began.

When they were trailing 1-0, Fernando Diniz opted to bring on some starting players such as Matheuzinho, Matheus Bidu, Breno Bidon, Rodrigo Garro and Kaio César — the latter, in fact, provided the assist for the equalizer scored by striker Gui Negão midway through the second half. Later, Hugo Souza praised center-back Iago Machado’s debut for the Alvinegro first team, and mentioned the tactical commitment of players who had not been getting many minutes, such as center-back João Pedro Tchoca and defensive midfielder Charles.

“We need to highlight what our team did today, what the guys who haven’t been getting as many opportunities did, coming into such a difficult game, such a difficult situation as playing here at the Maracanã, and delivering the way they did. Iago, 17 years old, had never played professionally, makes his debut at the Maracanã against Flamengo, and puts in the performance he did; Tchoca, who hasn’t been playing much, puts in the performance he did, and even though we had to defend a lot, we have to value that. We leave sad with the defeat, because we equalized the game and started to play a little more, but that’s part of it. Now it’s about keeping our heads up, we have a very important game on Wednesday, one that will decide a lot for the rest of our season,” he concluded.

Signed in mid-2024, Hugo Souza quickly became one of the pillars of the Corinthians squad. He was key in the team’s surge in the Brasileirão the year before last (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage), and was also decisive in the club’s titles in the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, respectively. His strong performances for Timão have earned the goalkeeper repeated call-ups to the Brazilian National Team. In total, he has already made 136 appearances for the Alvinegro, with 62 wins, 40 draws and 34 losses — a 55.4% success rate.

Now, after visiting Flamengo at the Maracanã Stadium for the Brazilian Championship, Corinthians turn their focus back to their priorities for the “game of the year” this season. That is because next Wednesday (16), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), the Alvinegro will host Argentina’s Estudiantes in the second leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores quarterfinals. In the first match, in La Plata, the sides drew 1-1. If there is another draw, the semifinalist will be decided on penalties.

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