Gustavo Henrique hails Corinthians in Libertadores, urges caution | OneFootball

Late on Wednesday night (15), Corinthians hosted Santa Fe of Colombia at Neo Química Arena in a match valid for the second round of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores group stage and defeated the opponent 2-0. Raniele and Gustavo Henrique, both in the second half, scored the goals for Alvinegro. The win kept Corinthians at the top of Group E with six points — four goals scored and none conceded.

In an interview with Rede Globo right after the final whistle, center-back Gustavo Henrique was asked about Corinthians’ start in the Libertadores — two wins in two matches — and called for “keeping their feet on the ground.” He also mentioned the team’s need to keep improving and absorbing head coach Fernando Diniz’s playing methods.

Photo: Disclosure/Libertadores

“We earned a victory decided in the details. In the first half, the opponent applied very efficient marking, but even so, we tried to stick to our game plan and control the pace of the match. We’re off to an excellent start, with a 100% record in these two games, but the focus now is to keep our feet on the ground. We’re still in a process of daily improvement to absorb the coach’s ideas (Fernando Diniz), refining our execution so we can deliver the performance the fans deserve,” he said.

He then detailed the play that led to his goal. It came in the 35th minute of the second half, when Rodrigo Garro took a free kick from the right midfield area and found No. 13 at the far post, where he finished with a half-volley into the back of Santa Fe’s net, sealing the Corinthians win. He revealed that, at first, his intention was only to hold the ball up and look for an assist.

“On that play, I signaled to Garro that I was going into the box. At first, my intention was only to hold the ball up and look for an assist, but the ball fell differently. It was a quick play; I ended up slipping a little and the ball deflected off my shin, but the important thing is that I was lucky enough to be in the right place. Thank God, I was able to finish it successfully and help the team with that goal,” he said.

Signed at the start of 2024, Corinthians defender Gustavo Henrique has since been considered one of the team’s pillars and leaders. Before arriving at Parque São Jorge, he played for Santos (where he came through the youth system), Flamengo, Fenerbahçe of Turkey, and Real Valladolid of Spain. Since then, he has made 93 appearances in a Corinthians shirt (89 as a starter), with 43 wins, 19 draws, and 31 losses — a 52.54% success rate. The center-back has scored eight goals and provided four assists in that span, and he was an undisputed starter in the title-winning campaigns of the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively.

According to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, the defender posted the following numbers over the 90 minutes: seven defensive contributions, 6/6 aerial duels won, five clearances, 1/1 tackles won, one interception, one ball recovery, 1/1 ground duels won, 76 touches, 5/8 accurate long passes (63%), and 56/64 accurate passes (88%).

Now, Corinthians turn their focus to the next stretch of the Brazilian Championship. Next Saturday (18), at 8 p.m. Brasília time, Alvinegro will visit Vitória at Barradão Stadium in a match valid for the 12th round of the national tournament. Timão will look for a win after eight matches in the competition, as they sit only 16th with 11 points — two wins, five draws, and four losses — with eight goals scored and 11 conceded.

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