Matheus Bidu sees defeat as warning, eyes Libertadores decider | OneFootball

Corinthians were defeated 2-1 by Cruzeiro on Sunday night (16) at Neo Química Arena, in the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. Gustavo Henrique scored the black-and-white side’s only goal in the match.

After the game, left-back Matheus Bidu analyzed the result and turned his attention to next Thursday’s (20) decisive clash in the Copa Libertadores. With the home defeat, Timão remained on 32 points and dropped to ninth place in the Brasileirão standings. So far, the team has eight wins, eight draws, and seven losses, along with 25 goals scored and 22 conceded.

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As they left the pitch, the fans at Neo Química Arena were already looking ahead to the next match and chanted, “Thursday is war.” Corinthians will host Argentina’s Rosario Central in the second leg of the Libertadores round of 16. For Bidu, the defeat against Cruzeiro must serve as a warning to the team before the continental decider.

“Today’s game serves as a warning for us for Thursday. We know it’s an extremely important match, we’re going to give our lives on the pitch, and we know all the support from the fans will be very important for us. They are our 12th player, and we know that here at home they help us a lot.”

Even without managing to get any points, the full-back gave a positive assessment of Corinthians’ performance. Bidu acknowledged that the result was not in the team’s plans and again stressed the need to correct mistakes before the next match.

“I believe we played a good match. Unfortunately, it was a negative result that we weren’t expecting, but it serves as a warning. A warning for Thursday—now it’s time to go home, cool our heads, and start the week well prepared. We know that on Thursday we can’t make any mistakes, and we’ll try to give our lives on the pitch.”

Bidu comments on difficulties with crosses and finishing

The player was also asked about Pedro Raul’s involvement in the attack. The striker had previously been able to make good use of aerial balls in earlier matches, but against Cruzeiro, Corinthians had trouble supplying him through crosses. In Bidu’s view, the characteristics of each match directly influence that type of play.

“I think it depends a lot on the way the game goes. Unfortunately, today we couldn’t find a cross. Like you said, in previous games it worked. Today, unfortunately, it didn’t happen. But I think we have to work on it day by day to improve that crossing aspect as well.”

Speaking about what lessons the result can provide for the match against Rosario Central, Bidu pointed to concentration as one of the main factors. The full-back believes qualification will be decided by the details and stressed that Corinthians cannot afford mistakes in any area of the pitch.

“The warning is that we have to stay 100% focused. We know we can’t slip up at all, both in attack and in defense. We know it’s going to be a game decided by details. And we’re focused on giving and committing everything we can.”

Another topic addressed in the mixed zone was attempts from medium and long range. Bidu explained that the squad understands the importance of looking for alternatives when it struggles to reach the opponent’s box and highlighted the quality of Corinthians’ players to try to decide plays in the final third.

“We know we have to take more shots. We have a lot of very talented players who can make the difference in the final third. It happened today. We know it’s part of the game. There will be games where we’ll be able to try more shots, and games where we’ll be able to try fewer. But we can’t stop trying.”

Full-back sees improvement in the Neo Química Arena pitch

Finally, Matheus Bidu spoke about the condition of the Neo Química Arena pitch. The state of the field had been a cause for concern after problems recorded in previous matches. According to the player, there was improvement in the conditions seen this Sunday.

“Today the pitch was better. We know that in other games, unfortunately, there were some injuries. We know the arena has the best pitch in Brazil. And today it was already better. We hope it will be 100% on Thursday.”

Now Corinthians will temporarily put the Brazilian Championship aside and focus their attention on the Libertadores. On Thursday (20), at 9:30 p.m., Timão host Rosario Central at Neo Química Arena in the second leg of the round of 16. After a 0-0 draw in Argentina, a win by any scoreline will send the black-and-white side through to the quarterfinals of the competition.

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