Ramalho credits Matheuzinho, hails Corinthians win: "We played smart" | OneFootball

The Corinthians were far from shining at Maracanã, but they were efficient and left the field with a 1-0 victory over Fluminense, in a match valid for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The goal scored by Timão raised doubts about the credit: did André Ramalho actually head the ball crossed by Matheuzinho?

According to Corinthians' number 5, the answer is no. The defender revealed that he did not manage to deflect the ball crossed by Matheuzinho, which ended up in the back of the net.

"I'll be honest. There was a gust of wind [laughs], but I would say the goal was more Matheuzinho's than mine. Credit to his great cross. My role there was more to disturb Fábio. If I wasn't there, maybe he would have caught the ball. But let's leave this one for Matheuzinho. My ethics wouldn't let me steal his goal [laughs]," he said in an interview with Premiere.

"[Matheuzinho] Celebrated rightly. I won't steal his goal [laughs]. I could have touched the ball, I was even a little afraid to hit the ball too hard, but I think I ended up helping to disturb. But the merit was his, he made a great cross and the ball went in," he added at another moment.

Timão, despite the low volume of play, added three very important points away from home. The Alvinegro moved up to ninth place, with 29 points. All this amidst seven important absences, which was greatly celebrated by Ramalho.

"The absences are things that are part of football, we have to learn to deal with. The most important thing is that those who are on the field, once again, showed that they have the potential to be there, that they have the level to play games like this. We knew how to play the game. It may not have been a brilliant game, but we knew how to defend ourselves, play as a team. Those who came in place of those who usually play performed a great role and helped us win three very important points for us," he evaluated.

Many fans had been demanding the squad for the difference shown in the Copa do Brasil and in the Brazilian Championship, which was mentioned by Ramalho. In the league competition, the team had been struggling to leave the bottom of the table, but was not achieving good results. In the knockout, Timão did not concede goals and seemed more secure. The turning point in the Serie A, for the defender, was the triumph over Vasco, in the 21st round.

"We have been saying for a long time that we want to fight for the top group of the Brazilian. But we were being very inconsistent, oscillating a lot. In the midst of all this, comes the Copa do Brasil, and on the contrary, we were very consistent, we didn't concede any goals. This showed our irregularity, but on the other hand showed how we have conditions to do more. And we have been doing this in the last games. We had a turnaround there since the game against Vasco. We have been unbeaten for a few games and we have to continue in this pace. We showed our potential today and we can't stop. We have time to focus on the Brazilian Championship, regardless of being at home or away. We have to be focused to add as many points as possible and reach our goal," the defender concluded.

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