Dorival on Corinthians’ second-half slump and when Memphis could return | OneFootball

Coach Dorival Júnior explained the drop of Corinthians in the second half of the match against Botafogo, this Sunday, at Neo Química Arena, for the Brazilian Championship. The team took a 1-0 lead, conceded the comeback in the final stage, and still managed to secure a draw.

Dorival believes that Timão played an excellent first half, but did not convert all the chances they created. As a result, the team kept Botafogo alive in the match.

“Football has a maxim. We played a high-level first half, creating four or five real chances, but we were not successful in finishing. With that, you bring Botafogo back, who are a very high-quality team. I think Corinthians played a great match,” analyzed the coach.

“In many moments, our substitutions were a response to what Botafogo was doing. We conceded two goals, which was a shame. We didn’t come back well for the second half. It’s a situation that bothers us, and we need to correct it so it doesn’t happen again,” he added.

Memphis back?

Dorival also gave a timeline for the return of Memphis Depay. The Dutchman is recovering from bone edema in his left knee and, according to the Corinthians coach, should return to training during this week.

“I believe Memphis may return this week. That’s the expectation,” he revealed.

Defensive fluctuations

The Corinthians manager does not see the team’s defensive fluctuations as a major problem. On the contrary, he sees the issue with naturalness given the difficulties the team has faced throughout this season, such as the numerous injuries.

“I don’t see it that way. We played a very bad game against Cruzeiro, I admit it. Apart from that, we have a normal fluctuation. We were forced to make many changes throughout the season, we had a very large number of absences. Having a team that is not breached in almost 50% of the games is an achievement,” he said.

“The first half was a reflection of what our games have been like. We can’t forget that we’re facing a quality team. It’s that old saying, if you don’t kill the game, you’ll be punished. It was a great match between teams that wanted to play, wanted to score,” he concluded.

Situation in the standings

With the 2-2 draw, Corinthians moved up to ninth place in the table, with 46 points, two behind eighth-placed São Paulo. With no chance of reaching the G7, Dorival Júnior’s team is aiming for at least eighth place to try to secure a spot in the Libertadores in case of failure in the Copa do Brasil.

Corinthians’ next match

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