Dorival sees Corinthians as more mature, but remains alert: "The situation is still worrying"

Corinthians beat Fluminense 1-0 this Saturday (13/9), at Maracanã, in the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship, and reached 29 points, rising to ninth place. However, despite the positive result, coach Dorival Júnior preached caution when analyzing the team's moment.

"I think the work is progressing. We have to focus on the moment, on the situation. It's still a worrying situation; we wouldn't like to be where we are. We could have already had a few more points thanks to what we produced in many games, but they didn't happen. Suddenly, we're starting to find a way with a little more confidence and waiting for all the players to return so we have our full squad. God willing, two or three more rounds is all we want, except perhaps for Carrillo," said Dorival.

Furthermore, Dorival emphasized that the team has improved in key areas. The coach also highlighted defensive organization as one of the factors that has sustained the team.

"We've gained in some important aspects, the team is maturing, it's gaining significant confidence, but it's still very little compared to where we are in the league table," said the coach.

"We didn't suffer that much, even though we felt a physical difference compared to the opposing team. Even so, we were well positioned on the field, if I remember correctly, of the 26 matches we've played here, and in 13 of them, we didn't concede a goal. At that time (upon arriving at Corinthians), it was a very serious problem that we were facing, and I think that in that sense we found a way forward," he concluded.

With a long list of absences, Dorival once again lamented medical issues and suspensions. Among the most recent absentees are Rodrigo Garro, who was injured before the ball even kicked off at Maracanã, and Gui Negão, suspended for receiving a third yellow card.

"We're facing an unusual situation with many problems, and we're trying to find solutions within our squad and our group in every way possible. I really value the inclusion of highly experienced players, like Talles, Romero, and Hugo himself, who, after a long period of inactivity, is back to help us. Tales made the play that led to our goal, after a rebound. Romero came on and also contributed. So that's what we want."

Finally, Dorival celebrated breaking Corinthians' long winless streak at Maracanã. He also emphasized the importance of the result against an opponent who, according to him, had a physical advantage by resting starters.

"Now, sometimes it's very difficult to have, as we did in previous games, possession, dominance, creating goal-scoring opportunities, and we didn't finish the games. So I think that at some point we would have had that condition too. I'm happy about the moment. Corinthians haven't won here in a long time, and I think that's a point we have to value a lot," he concluded.

With a week off for training and recovery, Corinthians returns to the field next Sunday (21/9). The opponent will be Sport , at Ilha do Retiro, at 5:30 pm, for the 24th round of the Brasileirão.

Follow our content on social media: Bluesky, Threads, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook .