Coutinho opens up after Santos debut: “Fresh start” | OneFootball

Santos’s 2-1 victory over São Paulo this Friday, the 2nd, at Morumbi, in the Brazilian Championship, also marked Philippe Coutinho’s return to the pitch. The midfielder came on in the second half, made his debut for the club, and returned to competition after a long spell on the sidelines.

In a high-intensity match, he quickly had to deal with the pace of the derby. Santos had gone behind after Luciano converted a penalty, but they responded in the first half and turned it around with two goals from Gabigol.

Philippe Coutinho came on when the match was already wide open and was tasked with helping the team protect the lead until the final whistle. More than just the minutes on the field, the match represented the start of a new chapter at Santos for the midfielder.

After the match, Philippe Coutinho admitted he had to overcome a lack of match fitness to keep up with the game’s intensity. The attacking midfielder also said he now intends to put the previous period behind him and focus on what lies ahead.

“I was out for quite a while, thinking, rethinking, and I had this opportunity to make a comeback. Now it’s about looking for new things, a fresh start; the return was a little difficult,” the player told Sportv before continuing:

“You come on in the second half of a hard-fought game, make two or three sprints, and it takes your breath away a bit. I held up well and managed to help out defensively. It was important, everyone gave their all, and we leave here with three important points,” he explained.

Santos move up and set their sights on the top spots

The win took Santos to 41 points, in seventh place in the Brasileirão. São Paulo stayed on 36 points, in 11th. The victory kept Peixe close to the race for the top positions and made the upcoming run of games even more important.

Philippe Coutinho, however, avoided getting ahead of himself. The attacking midfielder highlighted the atmosphere within the squad and backed a game-by-game approach, especially given Santos’ upcoming schedule.

“The atmosphere is very good, wins help, everyone is working happily. We have to keep our feet on the ground and keep picking up points; further down the line we’ll see what we can achieve,” the black-and-white player concluded.

Flamengo will be the next test

Santos’ next match will be on Thursday against Flamengo at Vila Belmiro. The game could represent another opportunity for Coutinho to get more minutes and continue regaining his competitive rhythm.

Now, the tendency is for the coaching staff to gradually assess the attacking midfielder’s progress, while Santos try to build on their Brazilian Championship resurgence and move closer to the top of the table.

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