Dorival hails Corinthians’ smart win but warns: “Still worrying” | OneFootball

Coach Dorival Júnior admired the intelligence of Corinthians in their 1-0 victory over Fluminense at Maracanã on Saturday night, during the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The Timão overcame their absences and, despite not playing a brilliant game, were efficient in the goal play and secured three crucial points.

“We return to a previous topic we discussed some time ago. We had seven players who played in the last match. Two days ago, we were deciding a spot just like Fluminense did. They had the option to change practically the entire team, and it is natural that they would have a physical advantage throughout this process. However, I think we were intelligent in the way we played. We didn’t suffer much. If I’m not mistaken, out of the 26 matches we’ve been here, in 13 of them we didn’t concede goals. That was, at that moment, a very serious problem we were going through. I think, in that sense, we found a path,” said Dorival.

Corinthians arrived for Saturday's match with six absences: Raniele, Charles, Carrillo, José Martínez, and Memphis Depay are in the medical department, while Breno Bidon served a suspension. To make matters worse, Rodrigo Garro felt pain in his right calf during the warm-up and was cut from the bench.

Because of this, Dorival had to call on players who might not currently enjoy much prestige with the Fiel Torcida, such as Talles Magno, Romero, and even the full-back Hugo. Additionally, other changes were seen in the starting lineup, like Ryan replacing the suspended Bidon.

“We have a very large number of players out of action. Today, we lost Garro even before the start of the match. Now, we might not have him for the weekend along with Gui, who received the third yellow card. We are dealing with an unusual situation, looking for solutions within our squad. I highly value the inclusion of experienced players like Talles, Romero, Hugo, who after a long period of inactivity come back and help us. Talles made the play that ended up leading to our goal in a ball recovery,” analyzed the coach.

“That’s what we want. Now, sometimes it gets very difficult. In previous games, we had possession, dominance, creation, and didn’t win. I think at some point we would have this condition. I’m happy for the moment, it’s been a long time since Corinthians won here. At this moment, I think [we have to value] much more the result itself and the way the team behaved,” he continued.

With the good result away from home, Corinthians reached their third consecutive game without losing in the Brasileirão, accumulating two wins and a draw. Moreover, Timão climbed three positions in the table and jumped to the ninth place, reaching 29 points.

The situation, however, is still far from ideal, according to Dorival. At this moment, Corinthians has seven points more than Vitória, who opens the relegation zone.

“I think the work is progressing. We have to worry about the moment. It is still a worrying situation, we wouldn’t like to be where we are. We could have had a few more points for what we produced in many games, but it didn’t happen. Suddenly, we are starting to find a path with a little more confidence, and waiting for everyone to return so that we can have our full squad, God willing, in two or three more rounds. The exception might be Carrillo. We have gained in some important aspects, the team is maturing, but it is still very little in relation to the moment we are living in the table,” concluded the coach.

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