Zenit’s midfielder spoke about the victory over «Rostov» and his expectations for the game between «Krasnodar» and «Amkar».
• The first half was tough. There were a lot of fouls. The main thing is that we were able to score two goals at the end. Once it was 2:0 in the second half, it was already easier for us. We controlled the ball, played our football. I think that the first goal decided the outcome of the game. To earn the championship, we need to win two games, we’ve only done half the work. We’ll see how «Krasnodar» plays tomorrow (editor’s note: «Amkar» played «Krasnodar» to a 1:1 draw).
— Why was «Zenit» playing particularly well at the end of the first half? Did something change during the game?
• It’s really tough to play against teams like that. They come to St. Petersburg and they don’t have anything to lose. If they lose, then everyone will say that’s fine, because «Zenit» is just a lot stronger. If they get some points then people will think that it’s a miracle. Since they don’t have anything to lose they are giving everything out there. We weren’t playing that well in the beginning, but we were able to score when we needed and after that we started to play our game.
— Were the fouls part of the game in the beginning, or was your opponent trying to scare «Zenit»?
• Maybe they were trying to get us out of our rhythm with the fouls, to get us to worry, so that the expectations got to us. But we are experienced players and we can control ourselves in those kinds of moments.
— Alexander Ryazantsev said that he is not going to root against «Krasnodar» tomorrow. Are you?
• Whether or not «Krasnodar» can stay in the championship race depends on them. We’ll see how they’ll play. «Amkar» is in a really tough place right now and they need points. We’ll see what happens with the match.
