Hugo Souza rues Corinthians loss in Libertadores, on second-goal error | OneFootball

Corinthians hosted Platense of Argentina on Wednesday night (27) at Neo Química Arena in a match valid for the sixth and final round of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores group stage and lost 2-0. Even with the defeat, Alvinegro finished the group stage at the top of Group E with 11 points — three wins, two draws, and one loss — with eight goals scored and four conceded.

Moments after the final whistle, still on the pitch, goalkeeper Hugo Souza gave an interview to the broadcasters and analyzed the defeat against the Argentine side. Corinthians’ No. 1 said the team had a bad night and, collectively, went onto the field lacking focus.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agencia Corinthians

In his answer, the keeper also mentioned the mistake on the second goal scored by Zapiola midway through the second half. In the defensive half, Matheuzinho played the ball back toward him and Hugo ended up passing it straight to the opposing No. 10, who simply chipped him and extended the lead in Itaquera.

“I think that’s it. Some days things just don’t work out, and today was a bad night. I think we even managed to create some volume and keep the ball, but we couldn’t turn those chances into goals. And I think I had an unfortunate night, so besides making some saves, I had a major impact on the scoreline and I apologize to the fans. Now we have to keep our heads up and move forward, there’s a lot ahead of us,” he began.

Later, he was asked whether tonight’s defeat served for the team to ‘keep its feet on the ground’ after starting the Libertadores with three wins and two draws in its first five matches: “Actually, we are grounded. We’re not a team that gets carried away. We know what we have to do, we know what we need to do on the pitch. And today was an unfortunate night, where we tried and tried, and effort was not lacking.”

“The whole team ran hard all the way to the end as usual. The desire to win was never lacking; at no point did we give up on chasing the result, even two goals down we kept trying until the end. Unfortunately, it was a night when things just weren’t happening for us. We have to keep our heads up, on Sunday we have an important match in the league, and keep moving forward with the rest of the season,” he continued.

Finally, he returned to the mistake on the Argentinians’ second goal: “I’m sad, right? I apologize to the fans, to the team. That’s what we train for, we’re not going to stop doing it, I’m not going to stop doing it. I’m sad for making that mistake, I’m sad because, unfortunately, it hurts the team.”

Now, after being beaten by Platense-ARG in Itaquera in the Conmebol Libertadores, Corinthians turns its focus to its final match before the break for the 2026 World Cup. Next Saturday (30), Alvinegro will visit Grêmio at Arena do Grêmio at 5:30 p.m. (Brasília time) in a match valid for the 18th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship. Timão currently sits in 15th place with 21 points, from five wins, six draws, and six losses — 15 goals scored and 18 conceded.

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