Diniz assesses Cruzeiro defeat, speaks again on Memphis Depay | OneFootball

Head coach Fernando Diniz spoke at a press conference after Corinthians’ 2-1 loss to Cruzeiro this Sunday at Neo Química Arena in the Brazilian Championship. The manager talked about the use of aerial balls, assessed the team in the match against Raposa, and commented on the possibility of a turnaround in the Memphis Depay case.

“We scored the two goals from aerial balls (in the last few games), we had other chances from aerial balls, because Inter played with a very low block and when a team plays like that, against a very defensive side, the plays tend to come through the wings and from crosses. But I don’t think we only crossed balls into the box today, or against Rosario either. There it was a tougher game, a very intense game, and today, especially, we had a lot of control of the game in the first half. In the second, we had a little less possession, and we tried to vary our repertoire, we weren’t dependent on crossing balls into the box”, he began.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

Still on the attacking sector and chance creation, Diniz assessed the change in the team’s approach after the second-half substitutions, and commented on the physical condition of players like Raniele and Bidon, also with next Thursday’s (20) clash against Rosario Central in mind.

“I didn’t think we dropped back with Lingard coming on. If you look at those 15, 20 minutes, besides us scoring the goal, it was maybe our best spell in the game. So, I didn’t think that happened. After that, with the substitutions, we started rotating the team more, and Cruzeiro also made changes, we lost a bit of possession, and at some moments fitting the marking became a little more difficult,” he began.

“Raniele didn’t come on because we had to make some choices, and Raniele was in a situation… where if he played today, even if only for a few minutes, it would be a risk for Thursday. And yesterday he was in pain, today the pain improved, but it hadn’t completely gone away. So, he didn’t come on as a precaution. Otherwise, he would even have played. And that was it. And Bidon also came off at halftime because there was a risk, he was already feeling it. Yesterday, when we did the reassessment, I asked everyone, in the medical department everyone was okay. Whoever had a problem yesterday, for us to be careful with, was Raniele specifically, we took the precautions we had to take, and Ramalho,” he explained.

“And today, at halftime, when halftime came, those who also had some kind of issue, we decided to take off. And as the game went on, Kaio César is a player who sprints a lot, who has already had a hamstring injury, who had been complaining, not today, but a few days ago. We also decided to take him off, in order to preserve him, because it was a bit of a short blanket for today’s game. We tried to do the best we could to try to win the game, and at the same time not risk losing anyone for Thursday”, he added.

Asked about renewed talks over Memphis Depay’s contract extension, Diniz was direct and once again made it clear he sees the Dutchman staying in a positive light.

“You all know everything I think about Memphis, it would be redundant for me to say it, I’ve been saying it since the first day I arrived here. But, directly answering your question, it brings me joy and hope, and he has all of my support here. May this end with him staying here.”

Low attacking output and defensive system?

“I don’t make that kind of analysis, so it’s not something that worries me, because I don’t analyze it that way. I think the team has been improving, creating, today we had 19 shots. The important thing is to put the ball in the net, whether it’s Gustavo Henrique, Gui Negão, Pedro Raul, or Matheuzinho, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we keep improving, that we manage to produce”, he said.

“And, above all, it’s something I’ve been very… I’ve been dedicating myself a lot so that we can defend well. Today we lost the game, basically, because we conceded two very avoidable goals, both one and the other. Otherwise, the game would have been 1-0. Maybe if we had scored first, Cruzeiro would have had to open up, which would have made things easier. It has been a strong point of the team, the ability to defend. Today, with the two goals we conceded, we had every chance to avoid them, both one and the other”, he added.

Assessment of Garro and Matheuzinho

Criticized by many fans for the way they performed in the loss to Cruzeiro, Garro and Matheuzinho were also discussed in Fernando Diniz’s press conference. The coach defended the players and commented on the right-back’s mistake.

“I thought Garro performed well, and Matheuzinho too. Matheuzinho, in fact, has been the player who has played the most under me, has been very dedicated, and has put in very good performances. There was a passing mistake, that’s normal, things happen, but I think he has been very important since I got here, really very important, both defensively and offensively.”

Asked about Corinthians currently being the team that creates the fewest attacking chances in the Brasileirão, Diniz replied: “I think the team is looking for new solutions. That stat you have is from the start of the championship. Since I got here, I don’t know specifically whether, since my arrival, the figure is as bad as you said. I think we have been producing, in more than one match we scored more than two goals, we scored three against Grêmio in Porto Alegre. Today we also produced enough to score much more than one goal. So, I think the team has been improving in that regard.”

After the loss to Cruzeiro, Corinthians turn the page and focus solely on the clash against Rosario Central in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16 on Thursday (20). The match will be played at Neo Química Arena at 9:30 p.m., and a simple win is enough for Timão to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. After the 0-0 draw in Argentina, Fernando Diniz’s side are looking to reach this stage of the competition for the first time since 2022.

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