Gabriel Paulista on Corinthians response to exit, Pedro Raul chat | OneFootball

Center-back Gabriel Paulista spoke in the mixed zone at Cícero de Souza Marques Stadium and highlighted Corinthians’ ability to bounce back after being eliminated from the Copa do Brasil. After the setback against Internacional (a win, but elimination), Timão beat Red Bull Bragantino 2-0 away from home in the Brazilian Championship, and the defender said the result helped restore the team’s confidence ahead of its debut in the Libertadores knockout stage.

According to Gabriel, the elimination against Internacional hit the squad hard, but the group needed to quickly shift its focus to the rest of the season.

“Man, of course it felt like a defeat for us to be eliminated from the Copa do Brasil like that. It was a shock for us, we felt it a lot. And we needed to turn the page as soon as possible. And that’s the good thing about football, in just a few days we get the chance to change things. And today we showed that we’re capable of going far in any competition we play in. We managed to put together a great game away from home. Bragantino, if I’m not mistaken, I think it was 10 rounds, I don’t know, without losing. And we knew how difficult it would be. But with a lot of personality, we managed to get the result without conceding. And that gives you much more confidence for Thursday’s match.”

Agência Corinthians

The defender also spoke about Fernando Diniz’s work and said the coach gives players freedom to carry out their roles on the field. Gabriel also looked ahead to the clash against Rosario Central in the Libertadores.

“Diniz always gives us a lot of confidence, gives us a lot of freedom so we can play the way he likes us to play with the ball and, without the ball, also defend in the best way possible, bringing the attackers in to help with the defensive side too. So that gives us… Us defenders back there, it gives us greater support. And, of course, we needed to change all of that.”

“We were coming off a defeat that hurt a lot. And today was a day for us to change all of that. And, of course, maybe from the outside, a lot of people are somewhat doubtful about us, but if you look… Of course nobody wants to be eliminated from a competition, but if you look, after the World Cup break, we had one defeat, which was maybe the one that hurt the most, which was practically our elimination from the Copa do Brasil. But we’ve been doing a great job with Diniz since the break, during the Cup, too. And now, at the start of this stretch, we’ve always been giving our best, doing our best for Corinthians. And today was no different.”

“We turned the page. Like I said, this win was important, without conceding. And we have to take everything we got from today into Thursday. It will be a different match. It’s a different competition. In the Libertadores, Argentine teams are teams that always compete hard. So we’re well prepared for that, to fight, and to bring back a positive result from there.”

Gabriel reveals advice to Pedro Raul

Gabriel Paulista also revealed the content of the conversation he had with Pedro Raul before the match. The striker scored for the second game in a row and regained confidence after a period with fewer minutes on the field.

“I said two things that, for me, were important. And even now, in the locker room, Garro mentioned what I had said there. The feeling was that maybe we were inside the locker room as if we were doing really badly. Like we’re doing badly in the league. And it was a defeat, of course, that hurt a lot. So I said there that we have to get rid of this feeling that we’re doing badly, that everyone is fine, and that we really did need to give a response today and win this game. And to Pedro Raul specifically, I told him that he is a very important player for us,” he commented.

“He’s a player whose characteristics are clearly different from Yuri’s. Yuri is a player who looks for space much more. Pedro is more of a box player. And I told him that he needed to step up for Thursday’s game. He had already scored a goal, his confidence was already better. Of course, when a player doesn’t get many minutes, everything becomes a source of doubt for him. Maybe he’s afraid of making mistakes, afraid of miscontrolling the ball, afraid of making a pass,” he continued.

“I tried to get that across to him, because all players have gone through moments like that. I myself have gone through moments of lacking confidence. And other players, and coaches, helped me a lot with that. So that was basically what I tried to tell him. And maybe it helped in some way. Of course, Matheuzinho’s assist was also an assist that looked like he placed the ball there with his hand. And Pedro Raul did well to finish it and put it in the net,” he concluded.

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