Corinthians midfielder frustrated, comments on Yuri Alberto and defence

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Central do Timão

·30 September 2025

Corinthians midfielder frustrated, comments on Yuri Alberto and defence

By Daniel Keppler / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians returned to the field for the Brazilian Championship on the night of Sunday, the 28th, hosting Flamengo at the Neo Química Arena in a match valid for the 25th round of the competition. After squandering several offensive opportunities in the first half, including a missed penalty by Yuri Alberto, the Alvinegro opened the scoring early in the second half with the number 9, but ended up conceding a comeback, losing 2-1.

After the match, midfielder Raniele spoke to the press in the mixed zone, expressing his discomfort with Alvinegro’s situation in the Brasileirão: “Absolutely. From the moment Corinthians is in the top half of the table, we’re already uncomfortable. We have to fight to be in the top positions. We need to be up there. So, it’s not just uncomfortable to be fighting against relegation, but also not even being among the top eight Brazilian teams. That’s unacceptable. We need to improve and leave this behind.”

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He also spoke about Yuri Alberto, who missed a penalty by poorly executing a chip shot against goalkeeper Rossi. “He didn’t say anything. I don’t know if he practices that way, because when the guys finish training, they go to take penalties and I leave. So, I don’t know if he trains like that, I don’t know if he evaluated Rossi. If Rossi dove and he decided to chip, I don’t know. The decision was his, we have to support him. He redeemed himself later and scored the goal, we know he’s that guy. He puts himself in those situations. So, that’s what matters,” he said.

Raniele also spoke about his feelings playing as a center-back for Corinthians: “My original position is center-back. So I felt very good, very comfortable. If Dorival needs me, I’ll be there to do it. And he knows I can play that position easily. So, of course, respecting all the center-backs in the squad, I think if he wants me to do it, there’s no problem at all. I’ll give my best for him, for that position.”

The number 14 concluded by stating that his desire is to play, wherever that may be. “I feel comfortable wearing the Corinthians shirt and playing. If he (Dorival) puts me to play as a winger or forward, I’ll play the same way, I’ll give my all the same way and I’ll be just as comfortable. Flamengo positioned five players on our line, so we needed five players at the back to match that. And it worked. There’s no way to say the strategy didn’t work. If you say so, I’ll have to disagree, with all due respect,” he finished.

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