“They won at the expense of character, a single team”: what did the players and coaches say after the match “Zenit” - “Lyon” in the Champions League

“Kerzhakov acted perfectly”

In the fifth round of the group stage of the Champions League, “Zenith” achieved the necessary result and beat “Lyon”. The match ended with a score 2: 0 in favor of the hosts, which allowed them to reach second place in the standings. At the moment, both teams have seven points each, but the Russian team has an advantage in face-to-face meetings.

At a press conference, the head coach of the blue-white-blue Sergey Semak expressed satisfaction with the result, but noted that in the second half his wards began to act less actively.

“Glad to win. Until the last round, we remain in the struggle for access to the playoffs of the Champions League and the Europa League. In the first half we were better, at the beginning of the second we sat a little low. It’s good that they scored before the break. The opponent has individually strong performers. We had a hard time, ”Sport-Express quotes Semak.

The mentor explained the change in tactical scheme by the fact that the team “had no desire to play three central defenders”, as it was in the second meeting with “Leipzig”. In addition, he praised the actions of goalkeeper Mikhail Kerzhakov, repeatedly helping out partners.

“Misha played well. He defends the colors of one of the best teams of the championship. There is nowhere to go above. As for his performance for the national team, this is the decision of her head coach. Kerzhakov acted perfectly - with his career and work he earned a place at the base, ”said Semak.

At the same time, the mentor answered rather restrainedly to the question whether his presence in the composition of such a footballer as Artyom Dziuba pleases him. And this despite the fact that it was the striker who became the author of the first goal of the team, for the fourth time in his career hitting the gates of Lyon.

“I am glad that we have such a team. And one player in the field is not a warrior. Artyom performed remarkably, like other players, ”Semak explained.

The specialist regretted that Daler Kuzyaev and Yaroslav Rakitsky would not help in the final match of the group stage of “Zenith”. Both will not be able to play with Benfica due to the exhaustion of yellow cards.

“These are big losses, you could do without it. All the cards received by Rakitsky are not rude and not at all obligatory, ”concluded Semak.

The leader of the “Zenith” Artyom Dziuba said, due to which the blue-white-blue achieved victory and admitted that he was upset by the defeat of Lokomotiv from Bayer. This failure was the fourth for the railwaymen in the group stage and crossed out their chances of continuing their performance in the spring stage of the European competition.

“They won due to the character, a single team. Fought, perhaps, with not the highest quality game, but today no one fell out. Defenders are smarties. In my opinion, the rivals did not create anything, except for a strike by Dembele in the second half. And Misha Kerzhakov removed everything above. Today it was important to win. In the Champions League it’s always difficult, ”Dziuba said on Zenit TV.

In addition, the Zenith forward spoke about the situation with the fans, noting that he did not feel pressure due to the discussion of this topic in the press.

"I am fine. I don’t understand where everything comes from. Just rejoice. Let someone bark, blather - I'm doing my job. I will answer the field. Note, I’m not commenting on anything anywhere. Someone there is fanning everything. I’m not going to go to everyone, to prove something, to explain. The time will come, ”concluded Dziuba.

Goalkeeper Mikhail Kerzhakov, in turn, admitted that until the last moment he remained vigilant, even when the advantage of Zenit had grown to two goals.

“In my head was the match“ Real ”- PSG. Madrid were 2-0, and then missed. So it was necessary to maintain concentration until the final whistle. It was not so important for us what the Lyon would look like. They repelled from themselves. The most stressful moment? The beginning of the second half, the enemy got a kind of bulk, but we were waiting for this. In these 10 - 15 minutes, it was important not to miss. The French have great players, they threw all their strength forward, ”said the goalkeeper.

Magomed Ozdoev paid tribute to the opponent, but noted that his partners were ready for the tactical innovations proposed by Rudi Garcia. The French specialist led the team on October 20, succeeding Silvinho in this post.

“The players are the same. So the changes occurred only tactically. The coaching staff showed. We were informed, ”answered Ozdoev.

At the same time, the midfielder explained why he scored mainly from outside the penalty area and admitted how it feels to be distinguished at the home stadium in the Champions League.

“More often I find myself at the limits of the penalty than in herself. After feeds and discounts, I always need to be on the selection, I have to complete. The sensations are great. So far, only in European competition he scored at Gazprom Arena. We need to change something and start doing it in the national championship, ”the midfielder added.

Defender Douglas Santos expressed the opinion that a tense duel with Lyon will not prevent Zenit from recovering to the derby of the two capitals.

“There are only three days ahead. We should start resting right now. It’s good to eat, take a breath and tune in to a meeting with Spartak, which will be super important for us, ”said Santos.

“Lost not because of the arbitrators ”

In the camp of the opponent, a less positive atmosphere was expected to prevail, because this defeat seriously complicated their task of reaching the Champions League playoffs. Now Lyon needs to get the better of the Leipzig quartet leader and hope that Zenit stumbles in a duel with Benfica. As a result, only the mentor Rudi Garcia came to communicate with the media, while the athletes ignored the journalists.

“It was better to play and win, in order to solve all the questions about the next stage. At least take away a draw from here. We expected that the opponent would act tightly in defense, quickly move into counterattacks. In the first half, we didn’t have enough composure, in the second 15 minutes we looked good, and then it was too stereotyped, ”admitted the“ weavers ”mentor.

He did not agree that his charges should count on counterattacks, and also refrained from commenting on the episode with the first goal of Zenit. During the corner, Serdar Azmun pushed Fernando Marsala into the back, but the referee did not respond to the actions of the Iranian, since he actually did not participate in the attack.

“We missed both times when we clung to our gates. We had to play higher and act denser in pressure. As for the goal, there are no comments; we trust the judges and do not discuss their decisions. We did not lose because of the arbitrators, ”the specialist concluded.