Dorival cites fatigue in tough week, finds positives in draw | OneFootball

Corinthians did not give up and fought for a draw against Palmeiras in the seventh and final Derby of 2025. On Sunday night, Timão drew 1-1 with their rival at Neo Química Arena, in the 22nd round of the Brazilian Championship.

Coach Dorival Júnior mentioned the team’s fatigue, as they came into the Derby after two away games against Vasco, for Serie A, and Athletico-PR, for the Copa do Brasil. Due to the “tough week,” the coach saw positive aspects in Sunday’s draw against Palmeiras.

“On the positive side, I think the fighting spirit, bravery, commitment, and dedication we showed. We did a quick count, roughly, and I believe that from the last match we played at Palmeiras’ stadium to today, we had five absences and a sixth during the match from that squad that played there. It hasn’t been simple. It’s a very complex situation. Changes in some important roles with players we’re losing,” said Dorival.

“That really hurts. A team that’s trying to find itself, but has been struggling because of this. A very tough week, three games. Vasco’s pitch demanded a lot, then a second match on synthetic turf, which has a completely different recovery, and now today’s game, against a team that had the peace of mind to play at the weekend and prepare as much as possible. We had to withstand a lot of pressure because of everything we’ve been through in recent games,” he continued.

The alvinegro team once again suffered from absences for this weekend’s Derby. Corinthians were missing five starters in total: André Carrillo, Martínez, Yuri Alberto, and Matheuzinho are all in the medical department, while Matheus Bidu was suspended.

“This has been happening since I got here. We never had the team that, theoretically, would be the starting eleven on the field. We’ve always had problems, since my first match here. I think we only had the full squad with everyone fit for just one and a half matches. That makes things considerably harder, because we have a team that’s been restructuring since last year. We’re in a slightly different process from those teams that are in the spotlight in Brazilian football, and even so, we’ve survived. We’ve managed to find lineups that have given us some good results. It’s not what we’d like, of course. I think the fans are starting to understand a bit of what’s happening with the team this year. Their support has made a huge difference in helping us find important stability in the Brazilian Championship,” said the coach.

Substitutions and Memphis for 90 minutes

Dorival was also asked why Memphis Depay stayed on the field for the full 90 minutes, even after recently recovering from injury. The coach explained that players of the Dutchman’s quality can decide the game at any moment.

“I think it’s about the player needing a run of games. He was out for a while and his return was very short due to the previous injury. We have to consider all of that. He’s a dangerous player, creates a different situation for the opposing team. Not bringing Kayke on was my technical decision. Today, the team didn’t perform as it could because of the fatigue we had throughout the week. We had a better first half than second, but I expected we’d have difficulties in the second half, so I tried to save the substitutions,” he explained.

Dorival’s changes also didn’t have much effect for Corinthians. Vitinho and Talles Magno came on to give new energy to the Corinthians attack, but didn’t contribute much. Ryan also came on for Charles, and Cacá replaced Garro. Memphis, therefore, played the full 90 minutes, even though he didn’t help much.

“[The idea was] To try to strengthen the midfield and bring in a player who could get closer to Memphis. Palmeiras pushed forward, realized we were having some difficulties, that’s natural. They went all out. Memphis was holding the ball up very well. With that, we were trying to get players closer to him. It’s the first match he’s played the full 90 minutes, but he’s a player who, because of his ability and quality, like Garro, we have an obligation to always believe in, even if he’s not having a great night. It’s the coach’s duty to have that perception. That’s what I had in mind for the final phase of the match,” the manager concluded.

Corinthians’ situation in the Brasileirão

The draw didn’t change much for either team in the Brazilian Championship. Corinthians missed the chance to secure a second consecutive win in the national tournament and remained in 11th place, reaching only 26 points.

Corinthians’ upcoming matches

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