Santos and Corinthians have met five times this season; twice in the Brasileirão, twice in the Copa do Brasil and once in the Paulistão.
Santos came out as winners in on three occasions, with the other two games being a draw and a win for Corinthians. The Brasileirão top-scorer says that the team led by Tite play patiently behind the goals and knows how to value the ball. For him, you need to show willingness to block the opponent"s offensive system. He said: “In football you have to have a lot of energy when you are not on the ball; recognize the value of the opponent and try to block this quality. Everyone knows that Corinthians have players who unbalance, players who take good care of the ball and play with patience."
He added: “This team scores well, and can already penetrate, so imagine leaving free. We managed to neutralize these parts [Renato Augusto, Jádson and Elias]. Corinthians, both in Vila Belmiro, and in Itaquera, had more possession. We managed to position and neutralize these infiltrations of them and were effective in attack in time to fight back."
He also reserved praise for Corinthians defenders Felipe and Gil. He continued: “They have one of the most complicated defenses to face. They have Felipe, a young defender who"s very fast, difficult to mark on set pieces and it was my responsibility to mark him. Gil speaks for himself, a national team player, in addition to Cássio. It is a very complicated defense. I can not touch much on the ball in a game like this, but I will make some moves to help my teammates. You need to be smart to play against a team like Corinthians."
Santos and Corinthians have met five times this season; twice in the Brasileirão, twice in the Copa do Brasil and once in the Paulistão.
Santos came out as winners in on three occasions, with the other two games being a draw and a win for Corinthians. The Brasileirão top-scorer says that the team led by Tite play patiently behind the goals and knows how to value the ball. For him, you need to show willingness to block the opponent"s offensive system. He said: “In football you have to have a lot of energy when you are not on the ball; recognize the value of the opponent and try to block this quality. Everyone knows that Corinthians have players who unbalance, players who take good care of the ball and play with patience."
He added: “This team scores well, and can already penetrate, so imagine leaving free. We managed to neutralize these parts [Renato Augusto, Jádson and Elias]. Corinthians, both in Vila Belmiro, and in Itaquera, had more possession. We managed to position and neutralize these infiltrations of them and were effective in attack in time to fight back."
He also reserved praise for Corinthians defenders Felipe and Gil. He continued: “They have one of the most complicated defenses to face. They have Felipe, a young defender who"s very fast, difficult to mark on set pieces and it was my responsibility to mark him. Gil speaks for himself, a national team player, in addition to Cássio. It is a very complicated defense. I can not touch much on the ball in a game like this, but I will make some moves to help my teammates. You need to be smart to play against a team like Corinthians."
