Dorival: Corinthians better in derby, backs Gabriel Paulista | OneFootball

On the afternoon of last Sunday (15), Corinthians faced Santos at Vila Belmiro for the sixth round of the Brazilian Championship and left the field with a 1-1 draw, with the Corinthians' goal scored by forward Memphis Depay. After the match, coach Dorival Júnior pointed out that the team deserved a different result and explained the substitution of two players who were important in the duel.

“I think that not only the game in January, when we played here, but also this match, we deserved to have had better luck. Kaio asked for a substitution at halftime. We asked him to stay a little longer because of the imbalance he was causing on the side of the field. He went as far as he could endure,” said the coach in a press conference.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

“André's performance dropped a bit in the second half, and we opted for substitutions, opening up our team a bit more. Naturally, we didn't have a direct substitution for Kaio at first, but a player with such imbalance will help us a lot during this period, as he was a player I had been requesting since last year. Fortunately, we achieved this signing, and the management deserves congratulations,” he added.

In the continuation of the interview, the coach spoke about the strategy adopted in the match. Dorival Júnior stated that he knew how the rival would play and therefore opted for a close-quarters game with his team.

“We already knew how they would play and prepared for it. At first, the matchups weren't right, so we made a positional change. From there, we started to have more possession and proximity,” he commented.

Asked about the projection for Corinthians in the Brasileirão, the coach chose not to make any predictions and highlighted the difficulty of the tournament. Dorival cited São Paulo's great start and Cruzeiro's poor start as examples.

“It's hard to make such an assessment. Would anyone have pointed to São Paulo leading at this moment? Or Cruzeiro fighting against relegation? The Brazilian Championship is the most treacherous of all. There is no championship as difficult as ours in the world,” said the coach.

Dorival Júnior was also questioned about the mistake made by Gabriel Paulista, which resulted in Gabigol's goal, responsible for equalizing the game minutes after Timão opened the scoring. The coach defended the player, highlighted his importance in the squad, and stated that he will continue to support him.

“Mistakes happen to those on the field, it was a mistake, and it happened. He has helped us in many moments. I will never question an individual detail here. We work as a team and have to give full support at all times. Winning will be a victory for everyone, losing in the same way,” concluded the coach.

After facing Santos, Corinthians returns to the field on Thursday (19), against Chapecoense, at Arena Condá, in Chapecó, in a match valid for the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship, at 9:30 PM (Brasília time).

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