Hugo Souza admits poor game, eyes Corinthians reaction after league defeat | OneFootball

After Corinthians’ 2-1 loss to Mirassol this Sunday (3) in the Brazilian Championship, goalkeeper Hugo Souza spoke in the mixed zone and assessed the team’s performance. The keeper acknowledged that the team was unable to repeat the level shown in recent matches and stressed the need for an immediate response.

Asked about the refereeing and Corinthians’ performance, Hugo avoided using external factors as an excuse and focused on the team’s display. “It was very quick in the locker room. We just closed up there and moved on. I think right now it’s about saying little and fixing what needs to be fixed. It was a game where we lacked inspiration. It was a game where we couldn’t play our best football. We couldn’t keep the ball. We couldn’t involve the opponent, which is something we’re used to doing. And, well, move forward. Not every day will go right. And today was a day that was not good for us,” he said.

Photos: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

During the match, Hugo was seen complaining after the penalty incident. The goalkeeper explained that the reaction was the result of self-criticism.

“I was being hard on myself, right? Everyone knows I’m very demanding of myself, that I study a lot. I ended up making the decision to go the wrong way and I was criticizing myself for that.”

When commenting on Corinthians’ performance in the competition, Hugo stressed the need to focus on the present moment and seek improvement.

“Actually, I think we have to look at what’s happening right now. We’re coming off seven games without conceding, seven good results. Unfortunately, today’s game was not a good result. But we know we need to improve in this competition. We know we need to give a better response in terms of results.”

“And we’re going to pursue that from here on out. We have a battle on Thursday away from home. And another battle at our place, a derby. And we’re going to count on our fans so that we can secure those three points”, he added.

With the result, Corinthians returned to the Brazilian Championship relegation zone. Hugo reinforced the need for a change in attitude and highlighted the quality of the squad.

“Are we going to play in the zone? Yes. Alright, let’s keep going. Switch off from the Brazilian Championship to focus on the Libertadores. And next Sunday, switch it back on so we can get out of this situation. Our squad is not built for this. On the contrary, it’s a very qualified squad, a very qualified team, and it has to fight at the top of the table. But we have to understand our reality. And our reality today is this. So we’re going to fight to take the team out of this reality. As much as we may be down there, that’s not where we feel good. That’s not where we want to be. And we’re going to fight so that we can play better matches and get better results,” he concluded.

Now, Corinthians will return to the pitch next Wednesday (6) at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) to face Santa Fe at El Campín Stadium in the fourth round of the Conmebol Libertadores group stage. Fernando Diniz’s men have a 100% record and lead Group E with nine points. A positive result could secure the team an early qualification for the round of 16.

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