Dorival hails Corinthians, blasts missed penalty: “It’s a joke” | OneFootball

Coach Dorival Júnior was pleased with the performance of Corinthians in the 1-1 draw against Flamengo last Sunday at Neo Química Arena, during the eighth round of the Brazilian Championship. The coach celebrated the opportunity to repeat a lineup and liked what he saw from Timão, especially in the well-executed play that led to the equalizing goal, scored by Yuri Alberto.

“What makes me happy is the attitude our team has. After almost two months, I was able to repeat the team that played against Flamengo in Brasília. What we see is a secure performance, seeking the goal, naturally having some difficulties due to the sequence we need, but it’s a team looking to develop. If you observe the goal we scored, the ball starts from Hugo’s feet, hits the field, moves to the other side, changes sides again, making the rival line sway. There are the fluctuations, the inside passes, and the play inversion, and then the area filling with Yuri's finish. It’s the typical play we execute daily, and this repetition gave us the chance to find a goal like that,” he valued.

Dorival Júnior also did not hold back on the refereeing team that officiated the match. Like Marcelo Paz, Corinthians' football director, the coach questioned the non-awarding of a penalty on André, who fell inside the area after being pressured by two Flamengo players.

“The unawarded penalty is absurd. And not evaluated by VAR, even worse. A detail that could have given us a very important result here. We sought the goal at all costs, we were an incisive team. I would have preferred that perhaps this expulsion did not occur because from then on, the game ended. And this is happening frequently. We don’t have 60 minutes of play in any of the matches played. This is a very important factor because it makes it difficult for those who are seeking. It is a fact that we have to pay special attention to. It happens on both sides and is taking away the brilliance of a match,” the coach criticized.

Memphis Injury

Dorival Júnior also commented on the injury of Memphis Depay and lamented the loss of the forward. The Dutchman felt pain in his right thigh and was substituted as early as the 19th minute of the first half, right after Corinthians' equalizing goal. Rodrigo Garro replaced the number 10.

“It’s a shame what happened, he felt discomfort, according to him the sensation is that the muscle ‘jumped’, just to try to explain. At the moment he kicked, I think he stretched too much and felt it. That’s what he said, that he felt the leg ‘jumped’. It was on the last ball he switched to Bidu in the goal play. Then you have to change a composition because we have two attacking players and we were looking for interesting alternatives. Garro’s entry completely changes the context,” the coach assessed.

“An injury like this is bad for the club, for the athlete and now he will have exams tomorrow. There must be some significant change for the continuation of Corinthians and the Netherlands,” he added.

How to Handle the Pressure?

With Sunday's result, Corinthians reached the seventh consecutive game without a win this season, with five draws and two losses in the stretch. The coach, however, reiterated that he is calm about the situation at the club.

“I am aware of what I am developing at Corinthians since I arrived. Just see everything we went through here and the results we achieved. Is it a moment that bothers? Yes. Was it more difficult than last year? No. Last year was much more difficult, this year things are more organized. It’s a moment that many teams go through. If people have a little patience, they will realize that good things are happening with the team. We play with ball possession, defensive and offensive organization. There are many good things, besides the titles we won,” he said.

“Things don’t always happen as we want. We returned in a short preparation period. Do they forget this so easily? No one more than us knows the moment of a change. When you lose the locker room, you stop being important to the squad and realize you are no longer supported. That’s not what I see. If you give up at the first moment, you are very weak for any situation. In my life, I have always gone through these problems very calmly. Corinthians will still have many good things to go through this season. Let’s let things pass,” Dorival concluded.

Now, Corinthians returns to the field only after the break for the FIFA date, when they face Fluminense. The match, valid for the ninth round of the Brazilian Championship, is scheduled for the next April 1st, at 9:30 PM (Brasília time), at Maracanã.

Standings Situation

The result was not positive for either team. Corinthians added another draw and dropped to 11th place, with 10 points. Timão also saw the winless streak increase, reaching the seventh consecutive game without a victory — two losses and five draws in the stretch.

Upcoming Corinthians Matches

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